Professor 
George  Bunnell 


R  E  D  B  U  E  N: 


HIS   FIRST   VOYAGE. 


Being  tlje  Sailor-bog  Confessions  anb  Heroin- 

iscences  of  tlje  Son^of'- a- (@>entiem an,  in 

t()e  iftercljant  Sermce. 


BY  HERMAN  MELVILLE, 

AUTHOR  OF  "TYPEE,"  "OMOO,"  AND  "MAKDI." 


NEW    YORK: 
HARPER   &  BROTHERS,   PUBLISHERS, 

82    CLIFF    STREET. 

1849. 


-  " 


5  mm 

Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  forty-nine,  by 

HERMAN  MELVILLE, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Southern  District 
of  New  York. 


TO 

v.";<fc 

MY  YOUNGER  BROTHER, 

X 


THOMAS   MELVILLE, 


NOW  A  SAILOR  ON  A  VOYAGE  TO  CHINA, 


i0  bolttttue  is  Jfnocribefc, 


61454S 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

HOW    WELLINGBOROUGH    REDBURN5S    TASTE     FOR    THE     SEA    WAS 

BORN   AND   BRED    IN    HIM 13 

CHAPTER  II. 
REDBURN'S  DEPARTURE  FROM  HOME 22 

CHAPTER  III. 

HE   ARRIVES  IN   TOWN 27 

CHAPTER  IV. 

HOW  HE   DISPOSED   OF   HIS   FOWLING-PIECE 32 

CHAPTER  V. 

HE   PURCHASES   HIS   SEA-WARDROBE,   AND   ON   A   DISMAL   RAINY   DAY 

PICKS  UP   HIS  BOARD  AND  LODGING  ALONG   THE   WHARVES    ....        37 

CHAPTER  VI. 

HE    IS    INITIATED    IN    THE    BUSINESS    OF   CLEANING    OUT    THE    PIG 
PEN,   AND   SLUSHING   DOWN   THE    TOP-MAST 42 

CHAPTER  VII. 

HE  GETS  TO  SEA,  AND  FEELS  VERY  BAD 48 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

HE    IS    PUT    INTO    THE    LARBOARD    WATCH  ;     GETS    SEA-SICK  J    AND 

RELATES   SOME    OTHER   OF    HIS   EXPERIENCES 55 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THE    SAILORS    BECOMING    A  LITTLE    SOCIAL,   REDBURN    CONVERSES 


WITH   THEM 


63 


CHAPTER  X. 

HE   IS  VERY  MUCH    FRIGHTENED  ;    THE    SAILORS  ABUSE   HIM  ;    AND 

HE   BECOMES  MISERABLE   AND   FORLORN 69 

CHAPTER  XL 

HE  HELPS  WASH  THE  DECKS,  AND  THEN  GOES  TO  BREAKFAST...   73 

CHAPTER  XII. 

HE     GIVES    SOME    ACCOUNT    OF    ONE     OF    HIS    SHIPMATES    CALLED 

JACKSON 77 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

HE    HAS   A    FINE    DAY   AT   SEA,    BEGINS    TO    LIKE    IT  j    BUT    CHANGES 

HIS  MIND 86 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

HE    CONTEMPLATES    MAKING   A   SOCIAL    CALL   ON    THE    CAPTAIN    IN 

HIS   CABIN .' 91 

CHAPTER  XV. 

THE   MELANCHOLY   STATE    OF   HIS  WARDROBE    97 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

AT  DEAD  OF   NIGHT   HE    IS   SENT  UP   TO   LOOSE    THE   MAIN-SKYSA1L      103 


CONTENTS.  vii 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE    COOK   AND   STEWARD 107 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

HE     ENDEAVORS     TO     IMPROVE     HIS     MIND  j      AND     TELLS     OF     ONE 

BLUNT   AND   HIS   DREAM-BOOK 113 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

A  NARROW  ESCAPE    122 

CHAPTER  XX. 

IN   A   FOG   HE    IS   SET   TO    WORK   AS  A   BELL-TOLLER,    AND   BEHOLDS 

A   HERD    OF    OCEAN-ELEPHANTS 125 

CHAPTER  XXL 

A  WHALEMAN   AND   A    MAN-OF-WAR5 S-MAN 129 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE    HIGHLANDER    PASSES   A   WRECK 133 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

AN  UNACCOUNTABLE   CABIN-PASSENGER,  AND  A  MYSTERIOUS  YOUNG 

LAD* 137 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

HE    BEGINS   TO   HOP   ABOUT   IN   THE    RIGGING   LIKE    A   SAINT   JAGO's 


MONKEY 


147 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

QUARTER-DECK   FURNITURE 152 


viii  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

A  SAILOR  A  JACK  OF  ALL  TRADES 155 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

HE  GETS  A  PEEP  AT  IRELAND,  AND  AT  LAST  ARRIVES  AT  LIVER 
POOL 160 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

HE    GOES   TO    SUPPER  AT   THE    SIGN   OF    THE    BALTIMORE    CLIPPER.     167 

CHAPTER  XXIX, 

REDBURN    DEFERENTIALLY    DISCOURSES     CONCERNING     THE     PROS 
PECTS   OF    SAILORS 174 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

REDBURN     GROWS     INTOLERABLY    FLAT     AND     STUPID     OVER     SOME 

OUTLANDISH   OLD   GUIDE-BOOKS 180 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

WITH    HIS    PROSY    OLD    GUIDE-BOOK,    HE    TAKES    A    PROSY    STROLL 

THROUGH   THE   TOWN 192 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

THE   DOCKS 204 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

THE   SALT-DROGHERS,   AND   GERMAN  EMIGRANT  SHIPS 209 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

THE   IRRAWADDY 216 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

GALLIOTS,    COAST-OF-GUINEA-MAN,    AND   FLOATING   CHAPEL 221 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

THE    OLD   CHURCH   OF  ST.   NICHOLAS,   AND   THE    DEAD-HOUSE 225 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

WHAT   REDBURN  SAW  IN   LAUNCELOTT5S-HEY 228 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

THE   DOCK-WALL   BEGGARS 235 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

THE    BOOBLE-ALLEYS   OF   THE    TOWN 240 

CHAPTER  XL. 

PLACARDS,   BRASS- JEWELERS,    TRUCK-HORSES,   AND    STEAMERS....     243 

CHAPTER  XLI. 

REDBURN   ROVES  ABOUT  HITHER  AND   THITHER    253 

CHAPTER  XLII. 

HIS  ADVENTURE   WITH   THE    CROSS  OLD   GENTLEMAN 262 

CHAPTER  XLII1. 

HE     TAKES    A    DELIGHTFUL    RAMBLE     INTO    THE     COUNTRY;     AND 

MAKES  THE   ACQUAINTANCE    OF   THREE   ADORABLE    CHARMERS    .     264 

CHAPTER  XLIV. 

REDBURN    INTRODUCES    MASTER    HARRY    BOLTON    TO    THE    FAVOR 
ABLE   CONSIDERATION   OF   THE   READER 272 

A* 

•».-  - 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XLV. 

HARRY    BOLTON    KIDNAPS    REDBURN,    AND    CARRIES     HIM    OFF    TO 

LONDON 282 

CHAPTER  XL VI. 

A  MYSTERIOUS  NIGHT   IN  LONDON . 286 

9 

CHAPTER  XL VII. 

HOMEWARD-BOUND 299 

CHAPTER  XL VIII.  *' 

A  LIVING    CORPSE 306 

CHAPTER  XLIX. 
CARLO 310 

CHAPTER  L. 

HARRY   BOLTON   AT   SEA    316 

CHAPTER  LI. 

THE   EMIGRANTS 324 

CHAPTER  LII. 

THE    EMIGRANTS     KITCHEN 329 

CHAPTER  LIII. 

THE   HORATII  AND   CURIATII 334 

CHAPTER  LIV. 

SOME   SUPERIOR   OLD    NAIL-KOD  AND   PIG-TAIL 338 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  LV. 

DRAWING  NIGH  TO   THE   LAST  SCENE    IN  JACKSON'S  CAREER 343 

CHAPTER  LVI. 

UNDER  THE  LEE  OF  THE  LONG-BOAT,  REDBURN  AND  HARRY  HOLD 

CONFIDENTIAL  COMMUNION 346 

CHAPTER  LVII. 

ALMOST  A   FAMINE 353 

CHAPTER  LVIII. 

THOUGH   THE    HIGHLANDER   PUTS    INTO    NO   HARBOR  AS   YET;    SHE 

HERE  AND   THERE    LEAVES   MANY  OF  HER  PASSENGERS   BEHIND.     356 

CHAPTER  LIX. 

THE   LAST  END   OF   JACKSON •     368 

CHAPTER  LX. 

HOME   AT  LAST 372 

CHAPTER  LXL 

REDBURN  AND  HARRY,  ARM  AND  ARM,  IN  HARBOR 377 

CHAPTER  LXII. 

THE  LAST  THAT  WAS  EVER  HEARD  OF  HARRY  BOLTON 387 


E  D  B  U  B  N. 


CHAPTER  I. 

HOW  WELLINGBOROUGH  REDBURN's  TASTE  FOR  THE  SEA  WAS 
BORN  AND  BRED  IN  HIM. 

"  WELLINGBOROUGH,  as  you  are  going  to  sea,  suppose  you 
take  this  shooting-jacket  of  mine  along  ;  it's  just  the  thing 
— take  it,  it  will  save  the  expense  of  another.  You  see, 
it's  quite  warm;  fine  long  skirts,  stout  horn  buttons,  and 
plenty  of  pockets." 

Out  of  the  goodness  and  simplicity  of  his  heart,  thus 
spoke  my  elder  brother  to  me,  upon  the  eve  of  my  departure 
for  the  seaport. 

"  And,  Wellingborough,"  he  added,  "  since  we  are  both 
short  of  money,  and  you  want  an  outfit,  and  I  have  none  to 
give,  you  may  as  well  take  my  fowling-piece  along,  and  sell 
it  iii  New  York  for  what  you  can  get. — Nay,  take  it ;  it's 
of  no  use  to  me  now ;  I  can't  find  it  in  powder  any  more." 

I  was  then  but  a  boy.  Some  time  previous  my  mother 
had  removed  from  New  York  to  a  pleasant  village  on  the 
Hudson  River,  where  we  lived  in  a  small  house,  in  a  quiet 
way.  Sad  disappointments  in  several  plans  which  I  had 
sketched  for  my  future  life  ;  the  necessity  of  doing  some 
thing  for  myself,  united  to  a  naturally  roving  disposition, 
had  now  conspired  within  me,  to  send  me  to  sea  as  a  sailor. 

For  months  previous  I  had  been  poring  over  old  New 
York  papers,  delightedly  perusing  the  long  columns  of  ship 
advertisements,  all  of  which  possessed  a  strange,  romantic 


14  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


charm  to  me.      Over  and  over  again  I  devoured  such  an 
nouncements  as  the  following  : 

FOR    BREMEN. 

The  coppered  and  copper-fastened  brig  Leda,  having  near 
ly  completed  her  cargo,  will  sail  for  the  above  port  on 
Tuesday  the  twentieth  of  May. 

For  freight  or  passage  apply  on  board  at  Coenties  Slip. 

To  my  young  inland  imagination  every  word  in  an  ad 
vertisement  like  this,  suggested  volumes  of  thought. 

A.  brig !  The  very  word  summoned  up  the  idea  of  a 
black,  sea- worn  craft,  with  high,  cozy  bulwarks,  and  rakish 
masts  and  yards. 

Coppered  and  copper-fastened!  That  fairly  smelt  of 
the  salt  water  !  How  different  such  vessels  must  be  from 
the  wooden,  one-masted,  green-and-white-painted  sloops,  that 
glided  up  and  down  the  river  before  our  house  on  the  bank. 

Nearly  completed  her  cargo  !  How  momentous  the  an 
nouncement  ;  suggesting  ideas,  too,  of  musty  bales,  and  cases 
of  silks  and  satins,  and  filling  me  with  contempt  for  the  vile 
deck-loads  of  hay  and  lumber,  with  which  my  river  experi 
ence  was  familiar. 

Will  sail  on  Tuesday  the  20th  of  May — and  the  news 
paper  bore  date  the  fifth  of  the  month  !  Fifteen  whole 
days  beforehand  ;  think  of  that ;  what  an  important  voyage 
it  must  be,  that  the  time  of  sailing  was  fixed  upon  so  long 
beforehand  ;  the  river  sloops  were  not  used  to  make  such 
prospective  announcements. 

For  freight  or  passage  apply  on  board!  Think  of 
going  on  board  a  coppered  and  copper-fastened  brig,  and 
taking  passage  for  Bremen  !  And  who  could  be  going  to 
Bremen  ?  No  one  but  foreigners,  doubtless  ;  men  of  dark 
complexions  and  jet-black  whiskers,  who  talked  French. 

Coenties  Slip.  Plenty  more  brigs  and  any  quantity  of 
ships  must  be  lying  there.  Coenties  Slip  must  be  some 
where  near  ranges  of  grim-looking  warehouses,  with  rusty 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  15 

iron  doors  and  shutters,  and  tiled  roofs  ;  and  old  anchors 
and  chain-cable  piled  on  the  walk.  Old-fashioned  coffee 
houses,  also,  much  abound  in  that  neighborhood,  with  sun 
burnt  sea-captains  going  in  and  out,  smoking  cigars,  and 
talking  about  Havanna,  London,  and  Calcutta. 

All  these  my  imaginations  were  wonderfully  assisted  by 
certain  shadowy  reminiscences  of  wharves,  and  warehouses, 
and  shipping,  with  which  a  residence  in  a  seaport  during 
early  childhood  had  supplied  me. 

Particularly,  I  remembered  standing  with  my  father  on 
the  wharf  when  a  large  ship  was  getting  under  way,  and 
rounding  the  head  of  the  pier.  I  remembered  the  yo  heave 
ho!  of  the  sailors,  as  they  just  showed  their  woolen  caps 
above  the  high  bulwarks.  I  remembered  how  I  thought 
of  their  crossing  the  great  ocean  ;  and  that  that  very  ship, 
and  those  very  sailors,  so  near  to  me  then,  would  after  a 
time  be  actually  in  Europe. 

Added  to  these  reminiscences  my  father,  now  dead,  had 
several  times  crossed  the  Atlantic  on  business  affairs,  for  he 
had  been  an  importer  in  Broad-street.  And  of  winter  even 
ings  in  New  York,  by  the  well-remembered  sea-coal  fire  in 
old  Greenwich-street,  he  used  to  tell  my  brother  and  me  of 
the  monstrous  waves  at  sea,  mountain  high ;  of  the  masts 
bending  like  twigs  ;  and  all  about  Havre,  and  Liverpool, 
and  about  going  up  into  the  ball  of  St.  Paul's  in  London. 
Indeed,  during  my  early  life,  most  of  my  thoughts  of  the 
sea  were  connected  with  the  land  ;  but  with  fine  old  lands, 
full  of  mossy  cathedrals  and  churches,  and  long,  narrow, 
crooked  streets  without  side-walks,  and  lined  with  strange 
houses.  And  especially  I  tried  hard  to  think  how  such 
places  must  look  of  rainy  days  and  Saturday  afternoons  ; 
and  whether  indeed  they  did  have  rainy  days  and  Saturdays 
there,  just  as  we  did  here  ;  and  whether  the  boys  went  to 
school  there,  and  studied  geography,  and  wore  their  shirt 
collars  turned  over,  and  tied  with  a  black  ribbon  ;  and 
whether  their  papas  allowed  them  to  wear  boots,  instead 


16  R  E  D  B  U  B  N  : 


of  shoes,  which  I  so  much  disliked,  for  boots  looked  so 
ihanly. 

As  I  grew  older  my  thoughts  took  a  larger  flight,  and  I 
frequently  fell  into  long  reveries  about  distant  voyages  and 
travels,  and  thought  how  fine  it  would  be,  to  be  able  to 
talk  about  remote  and  barbarous  countries ;  with  what  rev 
erence  and  wonder  people  would  regard  me,  if  I  had  just 
returned  from  the  coast  of  Africa  or  New  Zealand  ;  how 
dark  and  romantic  my  sunburnt  cheeks  would  look  ;  how  1 
would  bring  home  with  me  foreign  clothes  of  a  rich  fabric 
and  princely  make,  and  wear  them  up  and  down  the  streets, 
and  how  grocers'  boys -would  turn  back  their  heads  to  look 
at  me,  as  I  went  by.  For  I  very  well  remembered  staring 
at  a  man  myself,  who  was  pointed  out  to  me  by  my  aunt 
one  Sunday  in  Church,  as  the  person  who  had  been  in 
Stony  Arabia,  and  passed  through  strange  adventures  there, 
all  of  which  with  my  own  eyes  I  had  read  in  the  book 
which  he  wrote,  an  arid-looking  book  in  a  pale  yellow  cover. 

"  See  what  big  eyes  he  has,"  whispered  my  aunt,  "  they 
got  so  big,  because  when  he  was  almost  dead  with  famish 
ing  in  the  desert,  he  all  at  once  caught  sight  of  a  date  tree, 
with  the  ripe  fruit  hanging  on  it." 

Upon  this,  I  stared  at  him  till  I  thought  his  eyes  were 
really  of  an  uncommon  size,  and  stuck  out  from  his  head 
like  those  of  a  lobster.  I  am  sure  my  own  eyes  must  have 
magnified  as  I  stared.  When  church  was  out,  I  wanted 
my  aunt  to  take  me  along  and  follow  the  traveler  home. 
But  she  said  the  constables  would  take  us  up,  if  we  did ; 
and  so  I  never  saw  this  wonderful  Arabian  traveler  again. 
But  he  long  haunted  me ;  and  several  times  I  dreamt  of 
him,  and  thought  his  great  eyes  were  grown  still  larger  and 
rounder  ;  and  once  I  had  a  vision  of  the  date  tree. 

In  course  of  time,  my  thoughts  became  more  and  more 
prone  to  dwell  upon  foreign  things  ;  and  in  a  thousand  ways 
I  sought  to  gratify  my  tastes.  We  had  several  pieces  of 
furniture  in  the  house,  which  had  been  brought  from  Europe, 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  17 

These  I  examined  again  and  again,,  wondering  where  the 
wood  grew ;  whether  the  workmen  who  made  them  still 
survived,  and  what  they  could  be  doing  with  themselves 
now. 

Then  we  had  several  oil-paintings  and  rare  old  engrav 
ings  of  my  father's,  which  he  himself  had  bought  in  Paris, 
hanging  up  in  the  dining-room. 

Two  of  these  were  sea-pieces.  One  represented  a  fat- 
looking,  smoky  fishing-boat,  with  three  whiskerandoes  in  red 
caps,  and  their  trowsers  legs  rolled  up,  hauling  in  a  seine. 
There  was  high  French-like  land  in  one  corner,  and  a  tum 
ble-down  gray  lighthouse  surmounting  it.  The  waves  were 
toasted  brown,  and  the  whole  picture  looked  mellow  and  old. 
I  used  to  think  a  piece  of  it  might  taste  good. 

The  other  represented  three  old-fashioned  French  men-of- 
war  with  high  castles,  like  pagodas,  on  the  bow  and  stern, 
such  as  you  see  in  Froissart ;  and  snug  little  turrets  on  top 
of  the  mast,  full  of  little  men,  with  something  undefinable 
in  their  hands.  All  three  were  sailing  through  a  bright- 
blue  sea,  blue  as  Sicily  skies ;  and  they  were  leaning  over 
on  their  sides  at  a  fearful  angle  ;  and  they  must  have  been 
going  very  fast,  for  the  white  spray  was  about  the  bows  like 
a  snow-storm. 

Then,  we  had  two  large  green  French  portfolios  of  color 
ed  prints,  more  than  I  could  lift  at  that  age.  Every  Satur 
day  my  brothers  and  sisters  used  to  get  them  out  of  the 
corner  where  they  were  kept,  and  spreading  them  on  the 
floor,  gaze  at  them  with  never-failing  delight. 

They  were  of  all  sorts.  Some  were  pictures  of  Versailles, 
its  masquerades,  its  drawing-rooms,  its  fountains,  and  courts, 
and  gardens,  with  long  lines  of  thick  foliage  cut  into  fan 
tastic  doors  and  windows,  and  towers  and  pinnacles.  Oth 
ers  were  rural  scenes,  full  of  fine  skies,  pensive  cows  stand 
ing  up  to  the  knees  in  water,  and  shepherd-boys  and  cottages 
in  the  distance,  half  concealed  in  vineyards  and  vines. 

And  others  were  pictures  of  natural  history,  representing 


18  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


rhinoceroses  and  elephants  and  spotted  tigers ;  and  above 
all  there  was  a  picture  of  a  great  whale,  as  big  as  a  ship, 
stuck  full  of  harpoons,  and  three  boats  sailing  after  it  as  fast 
as  they  could  fly. 

Then,  too,  we  had  a  large  library-case,  that  stood  in  the 
hall ;  an  old  brown  library-case,  tall  as  a  small  house  ;  it 
had  a  sort  of  basement,  with  large  doors,  and  a  lock  and 
key  ;  and  higher  up,  there  were  glass  doors,  through  which 
might  be  seen  long  rows  of  old  books,  that  had  been  printed 
in  Paris,  and  London,  and  Leipsic.  There  was  a  fine  li 
brary  edition  of  the  Spectator,  in  six  large  volumes  with 
gilded  backs  ;  and  many  a  time  I  gazed  at  the  word  "  Lon 
don"  on  the  title-page.  And  there  was  a  copy  of  D'Alem- 
bert  in  French,  and  I  wondered  what  a  great  man  I  would 
be,  if  by  foreign  travel  I  should  ever  be  able  to  read  straight 
along  without  stopping,  out  of  that  book,  which  now  was  a 
riddle  to  every  one  in  the  house  but  my  father,  whom  I  so 
much  liked  to  hear  talk  French,  as  he  sometimes  did  to  a 
servant  we  had. 

That  servant,  too,  I  used  to  gaze  at  with  wonder ;  for  in 
answer  to  my  incredulous  cross-questions,  he  had  over  and 
over  again  assured  me,  that  he  had  really  been  born  in 
Paris.  But  this  I  never  entirely  believed  ;  for  it  seemed  so 
hard  to  comprehend,  how  a  man  who  had  been  born  in  a 
foreign  country,  could  be  dwelling  with  me  in  our  house  in 
America. 

As  years  passed  on,  this  continual  dwelling  upon  foreign 
associations,  bred  in  me  a  vague  prophetic  thought,  that  I 
was  fated,  one  day  or  other,  to  be  a  great  voyager ;  and 
that  just  as  my  father  used  to  entertain  strange  gentlemen 
over  their  wine  after  dinner,  I  would  hereafter  be  telling 
my  own  adventures  to  an  eager  auditory.  And  I  have  no 
doubt  that  this  presentiment  had  something  to  do  with  bring 
ing  about  my  subsequent  rovings. 

But  that  which  perhaps  more  than  any  thing  else,  con 
verted  my  vague  dreamings  and  longings  into  a  definite 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  19 

purpose  of  seeking  my  fortune  on  the  sea,  was  an  old-fash 
ioned  glass  ship,  about  eighteen  inches  long,  and  of  French 
manufacture,  which  my  father,  some  thirty  years  before, 
had  brought  home  from  Hamburgh  as  a  present  to  a  great- 
uncle  of  mine  :  Senator  Wellingborough,  who  had  died  a 
member  of  Congress  in  the  days  of  the  old  Constitution, 
and  after  whom  I  had  the  honor  of  being  named.  Upon 
the  decease  of  the  Senator,  the  ship  was  returned  to  the 
donor. 

It  was  kept  in  a  square  glass  case,  which  was  regularly 
dusted  by  one  of  my  sisters  every  morning,  and  stood  on  a 
little  claw-footed  Dutch  tea-table  in  one  corner  of  the  sit 
ting-room.  This  ship,  after  being  the  admiration  of  my 
father's  visitors  in  the  capital,  became  the  wonder  and  de 
light  of  all  the  people  of  the  village  where  we  now  resided, 
many  of  whom  used  to  call  upon  my  mother,  for  no  other 
purpose  than  to  see  the  ship.  And  well  did  it  repay  the 
long  and  curious  examinations  which  they  were  accustomed 
to  give  it. 

In  the  first  place,  every  bit  of  it  was  glass,  and  that  was 
a  great  wonder  of  itself;  because  the  masts,  yards,  and 
ropes  were  made  to  resemble  exactly  the  corresponding  parts 
of  a  real  vessel  that  could  go  to  sea.  She  carried  two  tiers 
of  black  guns  all  along  her  two  decks  ;  and  often  I  used  to 
try  to  peep  in  at  the  portholes,  to  see  what  else  was  inside ; 
but  the  holes  were  so  small,  and  it  looked  so  very  dark  in 
doors,  that  I  could  discover  little  or  nothing ;  though,  when 
I  was  very  little,  I  made  no  doubt,  that  if  I  could  but  once 
pry  open  the  hull,  and  break  the  glass  all  to  pieces,  I  would 
infallibly  light  upon  something  wonderful,  perhaps  some  gold 
guineas,  of  which  I  have  always  been  in  want,  ever  since  I 
could  remember.  And  often  I  used  to  feel  a  sort  of  insane 
desire  to  be  the  death  of  the  glass  ship,  case,  and  all,  in 
order  to  come  at  the  plunder  ;  and  one  day,  throwing  out 
some  hint  of  the  kind  to  my  sisters,  they  ran  to  my  mother 
in  a  great  clamor ;  and  after  that,  the  ship  was  placed  on 


20  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


the  mantle-piece  for  a  time,  beyond  my  reach,  and  until  I 
should  recover  my  reason. 

I  do  not  know  how  to  account  for  this  temporary  mad 
ness  of  mine,  unless  it  was,  that  I  had  been  reading  in  a 
story-book  about  Captain  Kidd's  ship,  that  lay  somewhere 
at  the  bottom  of  the  Hudson  near  the  Highlands,  full  of 
gold  as  it  could  be  ;  and  that  a  company  of  men  were  try 
ing  to  dive  down  and  get  the  treasure  out  of  the  hold,  which 
no  one  had  ever  thought  of  doing  before,  though  there  she 
had  lain  for  almost  a  hundred  years. 

Not  to  speak  of  the  tall  masts,  and  yards,  arid  rigging  of 
this  famous  ship,  among  whose  mazes  of  spun-glass  I  used 
to  rove  in  imagination,  till  I  grew  dizzy  at  the  main-truck, 
I  will  only  make  mention  of  the  people  on  board  of  her. 
They,  too,  were  all  of  glass,  as  beautiful  little  glass  sailors 
as  any  body  ever  saw,  with  hats  and  shoes  on,  just  like  living 
men,  and  curious  blue  jackets  with  a  sort  of  ruffle  round 
the  bottom.  Four  or  five  of  these  sailors  were  very  nimble 
little  chaps,  and  were  mounting  up  the  rigging  with  very 
long  strides  ;  but  for  all  that,  they  never  gained  a  single 
inch  in  the  year,  as  I  can  take  my  oath. 

Another  sailor  was  sitting  astride  of  the  spanker-boom, 
with  his  arms  over  his  head,  but  I  never  could  find  out 
what  that  was  for  ;  a  second  was  in  the  fore-top,  with  a  coil 
of  glass  rigging  over  his  shoulder  ;  the  cook,  with  a  glass 
ax,  was  splitting  wood  near  the  fore-hatch  ;  the  steward,  in 
a  glass  apron,  was  hurrying  toward  the  cabin  with  a  plate 
of  glass  pudding ;  and  a  glass  dog,  with  a  red  mouth,  was 
barking  at  him  ;  while  the  captain  in  a  glass  cap  was  smok 
ing  a  glass  cigar  on  the  quarter-deck.  He  was  leaning 
against  the  bulwark,  with  one  hand  to  his  head ;  perhaps 
he  was  unwell,  for  he  looked  very  glassy  out  of  the  eyes. 

The  name  of  this  curious  ship  was  La  Heine,  or  The 
Queen,  which  was  painted  on  her  stern  where  any  one 
might  read  it,  among  a  crowd  of  glass  dolphins  and  sea 
horses  carved  there  in  a  sort  of  semicircle. 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  21 

And  this  Queen  rode  undisputed  mistress  of  a  green 
glassy  sea,  some  of  whose  waves  were  breaking  over  her 
bow  in  a  wild  way,  I  can  tell  you,  and  I  used  to  be  giving 
her  up  for  lost  and  foundered  every  moment,  till  I  grew 
older,  and  perceived  that  she  was  not  in  the  slightest  danger 
in  the  world. 

A  good  deal  of  dust,  and  fuzzy  stuff  like  down,  had  in  the 
course  of  many  years  worked  through  the  joints  of  the  case, 
in  which  the  ship  was  kept,  so  as  to  cover  all  the  sea  with 
a  light  dash  of  white,  which  if  any  thing  improved  the 
general  effect,  for  it  looked  like  the  foam  and  froth  raised  by 
the  terrible  gale  the  good  Queen  was  battling  against. 

So  much  for  La  Reine.  We  have  her  yet  in  the  house, 
but  many  of  her  glass  spars  and  ropes .  are  now  sadly  shat 
tered  and  broken, — but  I  will  not  have  her  mended ;  and 
her  figure-head,  a  gallant  warrior  in  a  cocked-hat,  lies 
pitching  head-foremost  down  into  the  trough  of  a  calamitous 
sea  under  the  bows — but  I  will  not  have  him  put  on  his 
legs  again,  till  I  get  on  my  own  ;  for  between  him  and  me 
there  is  a  secret  sympathy ;  and  my  sisters  tell  me,  even 
yet,  that  he  fell  from  his  perch  the  very  day  I  left  home  to 
go  to  sea  on  this  my  first  voyage. 


CHAPTER  II. 

REDBURN'S  DEPARTURE  FROM  HOME. 

IT  was  with  a  heavy  heart  and  full  eyes,  that  my  poor 
mother  parted  with  me  ;  perhaps  she  thought  me  an  erring 
and  a  willful  boy,  and  perhaps  I  was  ;  but  if  I  was,  it  had 
been  a  hardhearted  world,  and  hard  times  that  had  made 
me  so.  I  had  learned  to  think  much  and  bitterly  before 
rny  time  ;  all  my  young  mounting  dreams  of  glory  had  left 
me  ;  and  at  that  early  age,  I  was  as  unambitious  as  a  man 
of  sixty. 

Yes,  I  will  go  to  sea  ;  cut  my  kind  uncles  and  aunts,  and 
sympathizing  patrons,  and  leave  no  heavy  hearts  but  those 
in  my  own  home,  and  take  none  along  but  the  one  which 
aches  in  my  bosom.  Cold,  bitter  cold  as  December,  and 
bleak  as  its  blasts,  seemed  the  world  then  to  me  ;  there  is  no 
misanthrope  like  a  boy  disappointed  ;  and  such  was  I,  with 
the  Warm  soul  of  me  flogged  out  by  adversity.  But  these 
thoughts  are  bitter  enough  even  now,  for  they  have  not  yet 
gone  quite  away  ;  and  they  must  be  uncongenial  enough  to 
the  reader ;  so  no  more  of  that,  and  let  me  go  on  with 
my  story. 

"  Yes,  I  will  write  you,  dear  mother,  as  soon  as  I  can," 
murmured  I,  as  she  charged  me  for  the  hundredth  time,  not 
to  fail  to  inform  her  of  my  safe  arrival  in  New  York. 

"  And  now  Mary,  Martha,  and  Jane,  kiss  me  all  round, 
dear  sisters,  and  then  I  am  off.  I'll  be  back  in  four  months 
— it  will  be  autumn  then,  and  we'll  go  into  the  woods  after 
nuts,  and  I'll  tell  you  all  about  Europe.  Good-by  !  good- 
by!" 

So  I  broke  loose  from  their  arms,  and  not  daring  to  look 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE. 


behind,  ran  away  as  fast  as  I  could,  till  I  got  to  the  corner 
where  my  brother  was  waiting.  He  accompanied  me  part 
of  the  way  to  the  place,  where  the  steamboat  was  to  leave 
for  New  York  ;  instilling  into  me  much  sage  advice  above 
his  age,  for  he  was  but  eight  years  my  senior,  and  warning 
me  again  and  again  to  take  care  of  myself;  and  I  solemnly 
promised  I  would  ;  for  what  cast-away  will  not  promise  to 
take  care  of  himself,  when  he  sees  that  unless  he  himself 
does,  no  one  else  will. 

We  walked  011  in  silence  till  I  saw  that  his  strength  was 
giving  out, — he  was  in  ill  health  then, — and  with  a  mute 
grasp  of  the  hand,  and  a  loud  thump  at  the  heart,  we 
parted. 

It  was  early  on  a  raw,  cold,  damp  morning  toward  the 
end  of  spring,  and  the  world  was  before  me  ;  stretching 
away  a  long  muddy  road,  lined  with  comfortable  houses, 
whose  inmates  were  taking  their  sunrise  naps,  heedless  of 
the  wayfarer  passing.  The  cold  drops  of  drizzle  trickled 
down  my  leather  cap,  and  mingled  with  a  few  hot  tears  on 
my  cheeks. 

I  had  the  whole  road  to  myself,  for  no  one  was  yet  stir 
ring,  and  I  walked  on,  with  a  slouching,  dogged  gait.  The 
gray  shooting-jacket  was  on  my  back,  and  from  the  end  of 
my  brother's  rifle  hung  a  small  bundle  of  my  clothes.  My 
fingers  worked  moodily  at  the  stock  and  trigger,  and  I 
thought  that  this  indeed  was  the  way  to  begin  life,  with  a 
gun  in  your  hand  ! 

Talk  not  of  the  bitterness  of  middle-age  and  after  life  ; 
a  boy  can  feel  all  that,  and  much  more,  when  upon  his  young 
soul  the  mildew  has  fallen  ;  and  the  fruit,  which  with  oth 
ers  is  only  blasted  after  ripeness,  with  him  is  nipped  in  the 
first  blossom  and  bud.  And  never  again  can  such  blights  be 
made  good;  they  strike  in  too  deep,  and  leave  such  a  scar 
that  the  air  of  Paradise  might  not  erase  it.  And  it  is  a 
hard  and  cruel  thing  thus  in  early  youth  to  taste  before 
hand  the  pangs  which  should  be  reserved  for  the  stout 


24  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


time  of  manhood,  when  the  gristle  has  become  bone,  and 
we  stand  up  and  fight  out  our  lives,  as  a  thing  tried  before 
and  foreseen  ;  for  then  we  are  veterans  used  to  sieges  and 
battles,  and  not  green  recruits,  recoiling  at  the  first  shock  of 
the  encounter. 

At  last  gaining  the  boat  we  pushed  off,  and  away  we 
steamed  down  the  Hudson.  There  were  few  passengers  on 
board,  the  day  was  so  unpleasant ;  and  they  were  mostly 
congregated  in  the  after  cabin  round  the  stoves.  After  break 
fast,  some  of  them  went  to  reading  :  others  took  a  nap  on 
the  settees  ;  and  others  sat  in  silent  circles,  speculating,  no 
doubt,  as  to  who  each  other  might  be. 

They  were  certainly  a  cheerless  set,  and  to  me  they  all 
looked  stony-eyed  and  heartless.  I  could  not  help  it,  I  al 
most  hated  them  ;  and  to  avoid  them,  went  on  deck,  but  a 
storm  of  sleet  drove  me  below.  At  last  I  bethought  me, 
that  I  had  not  procured  a  ticket,  and  going  to  the  captain's 
office  to  pay  my  passage  and  get  one,  was  horror-struck  to 
find,  that  the  price  of  passage  had  been  suddenly  raised  that 
day,  owing  to  the  other  boats  not  running ;  so  that  I  had 
not  enough  money  to  pay  for  my  fare.  I  had  supposed  it 
would  be  but  a  dollar,  and  only  a  dollar  did  I  have,  whereas 
it  was  two.  What  was  to  be  done  ?  The  boat  was  off, 
and  there  was  no  backing  out ;  so  I  determined  to  say  noth 
ing  to  any  body,  and  grimly  wait  until  called  upon  for  my 
fare. 

The  long  weary  day  wore  on  till  afternoon  ;  one  incessant 
storm  raged  on  deck  ;  but  after  dinner  the  few  passengers, 
waked  up  with  their  roast-beef  and  mutton,  became  a  little 
more  sociable.  Not  with  me,  for  the  scent  and  savor  of  pov 
erty  was  upon  me,  and  they  all  cast  toward  me  their  evil 
eyes  and  cold  suspicious  glances,  as  I  sat  apart,  though 
among  them.  I  felt  that  desperation  and  recklessness  of 
poverty  which  only  a  pauper  knows.  There  was  a  mighty 
patch  upon  one  leg  of  my  trowsers,  neatly  sewed  on,  for  it 
had  been  executed  by  my  mother,  but  still  very  obvious  and 


- 


HISFIRSTVOYAGE.  *25 

incontrovertible  to  the  eye.  This  patch  I  had  hitherto 
studiously  endeavored  to  hide  with  the  ample  skirts  of  my 
shooting  jacket ;  but  now  I  stretched  out  my  leg  boldly,  and 
thrust  the  patch  under  their  noses,  and  looked  at  them  so, 
that  they  soon  looked  away,  boy  though  I  was.  Perhaps 
the  gun  that  I  clenched  frightened  them  into  respect ;  or 
there  might  have  been  something  ugly  in  my  eye  ;  or  my 
teeth  were  white,  and  my  jaws  were  set.  For  several  hours, 
I  sat  gazing  at  a  jovial  party  seated  round  a  mahogany  table, 
with  some  crackers  and  cheese,  and  wine  and  cigars.  Their 
faces  were  flushed  with  the  good  dinner  they  had  eaten  ; 
and  mine  felt  pale  and  wan  with  a  long  fast.  If  I  had  pre 
sumed  to  offer  to  make  one  of  their  party  ;  if  I  had  told 
them  of  my  circumstances,  and  solicited  something  to  refresh 
rne,  I  very  well  knew  from  the  peculiar  hollow  ring  of  their 
laughter,  they  would  have  had  the  waiters  put  me  out  of  the 
cabin,  for  a  beggar,  who  had  no  business  to  be  warming  him 
self  at  their  stove.  And  for  that  insult,  though  only  a  con 
ceit,  I  sat  and  gazed  at  them,  putting  up  no  petitions  for 
their  prosperity.  My  whole  soul  was  soured  within  me,  and 
when  at  last  the  captain's  clerk,  a  slender  young  man,  dressed 
in  the  height  of  fashion,  with  a  gold  watch  chain  and  broach, 
came  round  collecting  the  tickets,  I  buttoned  up  my  coat  to 
the  throat,  clutched  my  gun,  put  on  my  leather  cap,  and 
pulling  it  well  down,  stood  up  like  a  sentry  before  him.  He 
held  out  his  hand,  deeming  any  remark  superfluous,  as  his 
object  in  pausing  before  me  must  be  obvious.  But  I  stood 
motionless  and  silent,  and  in  a  moment  he  saw  how  it  was 
with  me.  I  ought  to  have  spoken  and  told  him  the  case,  in 
plain,  civil  terms,  and  offered  my  dollar,  and  then  waited  the 
event.  But  I  felt  too  wicked  for  that.  He  did  not  wait  a 
great  while,  but  spoke  first  himself;  and  in  a  gruff  voice, 
very  unlike  his  urbane  accents  when  accosting  the  wine  and 
cigar  party,  demanded  my  ticket.  I  replied  that  I  had  none. 
He  then  demanded  the  money ;  arid  upon  my  answering  that 
I  had  not  enough,  in  a  loud  angry  voice  that  attracted  all 

B 


26  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


eyes,  he  ordered  me  out  of  the  cabin  into  the  storm.  The 
devil  in  me  then  mounted  up  from  my  soul,  and  spread  over 
my  frame,  till  it  tingled  at  my  finger  ends  ;  and  I  muttered 
out  my,  resolution  to  stay  where  I  was,  in  such  a  manner, 
that  the  ticket  man  faltered  back. 

"  There's  a  dollar  for  you,"  I  added,  offering  it. 

"  I  want  two,"  said  he. 

"  Take  that  or  nothing,"  I  answered;   "it  is  all  I  have." 

I  thought  he  would  strike  me.  But,  accepting  the  money, 
he  contented  himself  with  saying  something  about  sportsmen 
going  on  shooting  expeditions,  without  having  money  to  pay 
their  expenses ;  and  hinted  that  such  chaps  might  better  lay 
aside  their  fowling  pieces,  and  assume  the  buck  and  saw. 
He  then  passed  on,  and  left  every  eye  fastened  upon  me. 

I  stood  their  gazing  some  time,  but  at  last  could  stand  it 
no  more.  I  pushed  my  seat  right  up  before  the  most  inso 
lent  gazer,  a  short  fat  man,  with  a  plethora  of  cravat  round 
his  neck,  and  fixing  my  gaze  on  his,  gave  him  more  gazes 
than  he  sent.  This  somewhat  embarrassed  him,  and  he 
looked  round  for  some  one  to  take  hold  of  me  ;  but  no  one 
coming,  he  pretended  to  be  very  busy  counting  the  gilded 
wooden  beams  overhead.  I  then  turned  to  the  next  gazer, 
and  clicking  my  gun-lock,  deliberately  presented  the  piece 
at  him. 

Upon  this,  he  overset  his  seat  in  his  eagerness  to  get 
beyond  rny  range,  for  I  had  him  point  blank,  full  in  the  left 
eye ;  and  several  persons  starting  to  their  feet,  exclaimed  that 
I  must  be  crazy.  So  I  was  at  that  time  ;  for  otherwise  I 
know  not  how  to  account  for  my  demoniac  feelings,  of  which 
I  was  afterward  heartily  ashamed,  as  I  ought  to  have  been, 
indeed  ;  and  much  more  than  that. 

I  then  turned  on  my  heel,  and  shouldering  my  fowling- 
piece  and  bundle,  marched  on  deck,  and  walked  there  through 
the  dreary  storm,  till  I  was  wet  through,  and  the  boat  touched 
the  wharf  at  New  York. 

Such  is  boyhood. 


CHAPTER  III. 

HE    ARRIVES    IN    TOWN. 

FROM  the  boat's  bow,  I  jumped  ashore,  before  she  was 
secured,  and  following  my  brother's  directions,  proceeded 
across  the  town  toward  St.  John's  Park,  to  the  house  of  a 
college  friend  of  his,  for  whom  I  had  a  letter. 

It  was  a  long  walk ;  and  I  stepped  in  at  a  sort  of  grocery  to 
get  a  drink  of  water,  where  some  six  or  eight  rough  looking 
fellows  were  playing  dominoes  upon  the  counter,  seated  upon 
cheese  boxes.  They  winked,  and  asked  what  sort  of  sport 
I  had  had  gunning  on  such  a  rainy  day,  but  I  only  gulped 
down  my  water  and  stalked  off. 

Dripping  like  a  seal,  I  at  last  grounded  arms  at  the  door 
way  of  my  brother's  friend,  rang  the  bell  and  inquired  for  him. 

"What  do  you  want?"  said  the  servant,  eying  me  as  if 
I  were  a  housebreaker. 

"  I  want  to  see  your  lord  and  master ;  show  me  into  the 
parlor." 

Upon  this  my  host  himself  happened  to  make  his  appear 
ance,  and  seeing  who  I  was,  opened  his  hand  and  heart  to 
me  at  once,  and  drew  me  to  his  fireside  ;  he  had  received  a 
letter  from  my  brother,  and  had  expected  me  that  day. 

The  family  were  at  tea;  the  fragrant  herb  filled  the  room 
with  its  aroma ;  the  brown  toast  was  odoriferous ;  and  every 
thing  pleasant  and  charming.  After  a  temporary  warming, 
I  was  shown  to  a  room,  where  I  changed  my  wet  dress,  and 
returning  to  the  table,  found  that  the  interval  had  been  well 
improved  by  my  hostess ;  a  meal  for  a  traveler  was  spread, 
and  I  laid  into  it  sturdily.  Every  mouthful  pushed  the 
devil  that  had  been  tormenting  me  all  day  farther  and  far- 


R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


ther  out  of  me,  till  at  last  I  entirely  ejected  him  with  three 
successive  bowls  of  Bohea. 

Magic  of  kind  words,  and  kind  deeds,  and  good  tea !  That 
night  I  went  to  bed  thinking  the  world  pretty  tolerable,  after 
all ;  and  I  could  hardly  believe  that  I  had  really  acted  that 
morning  as  I  had,  for  I  was  naturally  of  an  easy  and  for 
bearing  disposition  ;  though  when  such  a  disposition  is  tem 
porarily  roused,  it  is  perhaps  worse  than  a  cannibal's. 

Next  day,  my  brother's  friend,  whom  I  choose  to  call  Mr. 
Jones,  accompanied  me  down  to  the  docks  among  the  ship 
ping,  in  order  to  get  me  a  place.  After  a  good  deal  of  search 
ing,  we  lighted  upon  a  ship  for  Liverpool,  and  found  the 
captain  in  the  cabin ;  which  was  a  very  handsome  one, 
lined  with  mahogany  and  maple  ;  and  the  steward,  an  ele 
gant  looking  mulatto  in  a  gorgeous  turban,  was  setting  out 
on  a  sort  of  sideboard  some  dinner  service  which  looked  like 
silver,  but  it  was  only  Britannia  ware  highly  polished. 

As  soon  as  I  clapped  my  eye  on  the  captain,  I  thought  to 
myself  he  was  just  the  captain  to  suit  me.  He  was  a  fine 
looking  man,  about  forty,  splendidly  dressed,  with  very  black 
whiskers,  and  very  white  teeth,  and  what  I  took  to  be  a 
free,  frank  look  out  of  a  large  hazel  eye.  I  liked  him  amaz 
ingly.  He  was  promenading  up  and  down  the  cabin,  hum 
ming  some  brisk  air  to  himself  when  we  entered. 

"  Good  morning,  sir,"  said  my  friend. 

"  Good  morning,  good  morning,  sir,"  said  the  captain. 
"  Steward,  chairs  for  the  gentlemen." 

"  Oh  !  never  mind,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Jones,  rather  taken 
aback  by  his  extreme  civility.  "  I  merely  called  to  see 
whether  you  want  a  fine  young  lad  to  go  to  sea  with  you. 
Here  he  is  ;  he  has  long  wanted  to  be  a  sailor  ;  and  his 
friends  have  at  last  concluded  to  let  him  go  for  one  voyage, 
and  see  how  he  likes  it." 

"  Ah  !  indeed  !"  said  the  captain,  blandly,  and  looking 
where  I  stood.  He's  a  fine  fellow ;  I  like  him.  So  you 
want  to  be  a  sailor,  my  boy,  do  you  ?"  added  he,  affection- 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  29 

ately  patting  my  head.      "  It's  a  hard  life,  though  ;   a  hard 
life." 

But  when  I  looked  round  at  his  comfortable,  and  almost 
luxurious  cabin,  and  then  at  his  handsome  care-free  face,  I 
thought  he  was  only  trying  to  frighten  me,  and  I  answered, 
"  Well,  sir,  I  am  ready  to  try  it." 

"  I  hope  he's  a  country  lad,  sir,"  said  the  captain  to  my 
friend,  "  these  city  boys  are  sometimes  hard  cases." 

"  Oh  !  yes,  he's  from  the  country,"  was  the  reply,  "  and  of 
a  highly  respectable  family  ;  his  great-uncle  died  a  Senator." 

"  But  his  great-uncle  don't  want  to  go  to  sea  too  ?"  said 
the  captain,  looking  funny. 

"  Oh  !  no,  oh,  no  ! — Ha  !  ha  !" 

"  Ha  !  ha  !"   echoed  the  captain. 

A  fine  funny  gentleman,  thought  I,  not  much  fancying, 
however,  his  levity  concerning  my  great-uncle,  he'll  be 
cracking  his  jokes  the  whole  voyage  ;  and  so  I  afterward 
said  to  one  of  the  riggers  on  board ;  but  he  bade  me  look 
out,  that  he  did  not  crack  my  head. 

"  Well,  my  lad,"  said  the  captain,  "  I  suppose  you  know' 
we  havn't  any  pastures  and  cows  on  board ;  you  can't  get 
any  milk  at  sea,  you  know." 

"  Oh  !  I  know  all  about  that,  sir  ;  my  father  has  crossed 
the  ocean,  if  I  havn't." 

"  Yes,"  cried  my  friend,  "  his  father,  a  gentleman  of  one 
of  the  first  families  in  America,  crossed  the  Atlantic  several 
times  on  important  business." 

"  Embassador  extraordinary  ?"  said  the  captain,  looking 
funny  again. 

"  Oh  !  no,  he  was  a  wealthy  merchant." 

"  Ah  !  indeed  !"  said  the  captain,  looking  grave  and  bland 
again,  "  then  this  fine  lad  is  the  son  of  a  gentleman  ?" 

"  Certainly,"  said  my  friend,  "  and  he's  only  going  to  sea 
for  the  humor  of  it ;  they  want  to  send  him  on  his  travels 
with  a  tutor,  but  he  will  go  to  sea  as  a  sailor." 

The  fact  was,  that  my  young  friend  (for  he  was  only  about 


30  RED  BURN: 


twenty-five)  was  not  a  very  wise  man ;  and  this  was  a  huge 
fib,  which  out  of  the  kindness  of  his  heart,  he  told  in  my 
behalf,  for  the  purpose  of  creating  a  profound  respect  for  me 
in  the  eyes  of  my  future  lord. 

Upon  being  apprized,  that  I  had  willfully  forborne  taking 
the  grand  tour  with  a  tutor,  in  order  to  put  my  hand  in  a 
tar-bucket,  the  handsome  captain  looked  ten  times  more 
funny  than  ever;  and  said  that  he  himself  would  be  my 
tutor,  and  take  me  on  my  travels,  and  pay  for  the  privilege. 

"  Ah  !"  said  my  friend,  "  that  reminds  me  of  business. 
Pray,  captain,  how  much  do  you  generally  pay  a  handsome 
young  fellow  like  this  ?" 

"  Well,"  said  the  captain,  looking  grave  and  profound, 
<(  we  are  not  so  particular  about  beauty,  and  we  never  give 
more  than  three  dollars  to  a  green  lad  like  Wellingborough 
here,  that's  your  name,  my  boy  ?  Wellingborough  Redburn ! 
— Upon  my  soul,  a  fine  sounding  name." 

"  Why,  captain,"  said  Mr.  Jones,  quickly  interrupting 
him,  "  that  won't  pay  for  his  clothing." 

"  But  you  know  his  highly  respectable  and  wealthy  rela 
tions  will  doubtless  see  to  all  that,"  replied  the  captain,  with 
his  funny  look  again. 

"  Oh  !  yes,  I  forgot  that,"  said  Mr.  Jones,  looking  rather 
foolish.  "  His  friends  will  of  course  see  to  that." 

"  Of  course,"  said  the  captain  smiling. 

"  Of  course,"  repeated  Mr.  Jones,  looking  ruefully  at  the 
patch  on  my  pantaloons,  which  just  then  I  endeavored  to 
hide  with  the  skirt  of  my  shooting-jacket. 

"  You  are  quite  a  sportsman  I  see,"  said  the  captain, 
eying  the  great  buttons  on  my  coat,  upon  each  of  which 
was  a  carved  fox. 

Upon  this  my  benevolent  friend  thought  that  here  was  a 
grand  opportunity  to  befriend  me. 

"  Yes,  he's  quite  a  sportsman,"  said  he,  "  he's  got  a  very 
valuable  fowling-piece  at  home,  perhaps  you  would  like  to 
purchase  it,  captain,  to  shoot  gulls  with  at  sea  ?  It's  cheap." 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.     ^  31 

"  Oh  !  no,  he  had  better  leave  it  with  his  relations,"  said 
the  captain,  <:  so  that  he  can  go  hunting  again  when  he  re 
turns  from  England." 

"  Yes,  perhaps  that  ivould  be  better,  after  all,"  said  my 
friend,  pretending  to  fall  into  a  profound  musing,  involving 
all  sides  of  the  matter  in  hand.  "  Well,  then,  captain,  you 
can  only  give  the  boy  three  dollars  a  month,  you  say  ?" 

"  Only  three  dollars  a  month,"  said  the  captain. 

"  And  I  believe,"  said  my  friend,  "  that  you  generally 
give  something  in  advance,  do  you  not  ?" 

"  Yes,  that  is  sometimes  the  custom  at  the  shipping  of 
fices,"  said  the  captain,  with  a  bow,  "  but  in  this  case,  as 
the  boy  has  rich  relations,  there  will  be  no  need  of  that,  you 
know." 

And  thus,  by  his  ill-advised,  but  well-meaning  hints  con 
cerning  the  respectabilty  of  my  paternity,  and  the  immense 
wealth  of  my  relations,  did  this  really  honest-hearted  but 
foolish  friend  of  mine,  prevent  me  from  getting  three  dollars 
in  advance,  which  I  greatly  needed.  However,  I  said  noth 
ing,  though  I  thought  the  more  ;  and  particularly,  how  that 
it  would  have  been  much  better  for  me,  to  have  gone  on 
board  alone,  accosted  the  captain  on  my  own  account,  and 
told  him  the  plain  truth.  Poor  people  make  a  very  poor 
business  of  it  when  they  try  to  seem  rich. 

The  arrangement  being  concluded,  we  bade  the  captain 
good-morning ;  and  as  we  were  about  leaving  the  cdfbin,  he 
smiled  again,  and  said,  "  Well,  Redburn,  my  boy,  you  won't 
get  home-sick  before  you  sail,  because  that  will  make  you 
very  sea-sick  when  you  get  to  sea." 

And  with  that  he  smiled  very  pleasantly,  and  bowed  two 
or  three  times,  and  told  the  steward  to  open  the  cabin-door, 
which  the  steward  did  with  a  peculiar  sort  of  grin  on  his 
face,  and  a  slanting  glance  at  my  shooting-jacket. 

And  so  we  left. 


CHAPTER  IV.  g£ 

HOW   HE   DISPOSED   OP   HIS   FOWLING-PIECE. 

NEXT  day  I  went  alone  to  the  shipping  office  to  sign  the 
articles,  and  there  I  met  a  great  crowd  of  sailors,  who  as 
soon  as  they  found  what  I  was  after,  began  to  tip  the  wink 
all  round,  and  I  overheard  a  fellow  in  a  great  flapping  sou' 
wester  cap  say  to  another  old  tar  in  a  shaggy  monkey-jacket, 
"  Twig  his  coat,  d'ye  see  the  buttons,  that  chap  ain't  going 
to  sea  in  a  merchantman,  he's  going  to  shoot  whales.  I 
say,  maty — look  here — how  d'ye  sell  them  big  buttons  by 
the  pound  ?" 

"  Give  us  one  for  a  saucer,  will  ye  ?"  said  another. 

"  Let  the  youngster  alone,"  said  a  third.  "  Come  here, 
my  little  boy,  has  your  ma  put  up  some  sweetmeats  for  ye 
to  take  to  sea  ?" 

They  are  all  witty  dogs,  thought  I  to  myself,  trying  to 
make  the  best  of  the  matter,  for  I  saw  it  would  not  do  to 
resent  what  they  said ;  they  can't  mean  any  harm,  though 
they  axe  certainly  very  impudent ;  so  I  tried  to  laugh  off 
their  banter,  but  as  soon  as  ever  I  could,  I  put  down  my 
name  and  beat  a  retreat. 

On  the  morrow,  the  ship  was  advertised  to  sail.  So  the 
rest  of  that  day  I  spent  in  preparations.  After  in  vain  try 
ing  to  sell  my  fowling-piece  for  a  fair  price  to  chance  cus 
tomers,  I  was  walking  up  Chatham-street  with  it,  when  a 
curly-headed  little  man  with  a  dark  oily  face,  and  a  hook 
ed  nose,  like  the  pictures  of  Judas  Iscariot,  called  to  me 
from  a  strange-looking  shop,  with  three  gilded  balls  hanging 
over  it. 

With  a  peculiar  accent,  as  if  he  had  been  over-eating  him- 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  33 

self  with  Indian-pudding  or  some  other  plushy  compound,  this 
curly  headed  little  man  very  civilly  invited  me  into  his  shop ; 
and  making  a  polite  bow,  and  bidding  me  many  unnecessary 
good  mornings,  and  remarking  upon  the  fine  weather,  begged 
me  to  let  him  look  at  my  fowling-piece.  I  handed  it  to  him 
in  an  instant,  glad  of  the  chance  of  disposing  of  it,  and  told 
him  that  was  just  what  I  wanted. 

"  Ah  !"  said  he,  with  his  Indian-pudding  accent  again, 
which  I  will  not  try  to  mimic,  and  abating  his  look  of  eager 
ness,  "  I  thought  it  was  a  better  article,  it's  very  old." 

"  No,"  said  I,  starting  in  surprise,  "  it's  not  been  used 
more  than  three  times  ;  what  will  you  give  for  it  ?" 

"  We  dont  buy  any  thing  here,"  said  he,  suddenly  look 
ing  very  indifferent,  "  this  is  a  place  where  people  pawn 
things." 

Pawn  being  a  word  I  had  never  heard  before,  I  asked 
him  what  it  meant ;  when  he  replied,  that  when  people 
wanted  any  money,  they  came  to  him  with  their  fowling- 
pieces,  and  got  one  third  its  value,  and  then  left  the  fowling- 
piece  there,  until  they  were  able  to  pay  back  the  money. 

What  a  benevolent  little  old  man,  this  must  be,  thought 
I,  and  how  very  obliging. 

"  And  pray,"  said  I,  "  how  much  will  you  let  me  have  for 
my  gun,  by  way  of  a  pawn  ?" 

"  Well,  I  suppose  it's  worth  six  dollars,  and  seeing  you're 
a  boy,  I'll  let  you  have  three  dollars  upon  it." 

"  No,"  exclaimed  I,  seizing  the  fowling  piece,  "it's  worth 
five  times  that,  I'll  go  somewhere  else." 

"  Good  morning,  then,"  said  he,  "  I  hope  you'll  do  bet 
ter,"  and  he  bowed  me  out  as  if  he  expected  to  see  me  again 
pretty  soon. 

I  had  not  gone  very  far,  when  I  came  across  three  more 
balls  hanging  over  a  shop.  In  I  went,  and  saw  a  long 
counter,  with  a  sort  of  picket-fence,  running  all  along  from 
end  to  end,  and  three  little  holes,  with  three  little  old  men 
standing  inside  of  them,  like  prisoners  looking  out  of  a  jail, 

B* 


34  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


Back  of  the  counter  were  all  sorts  of  things,  piled  up  and 
labeled.  Hats,  and  caps,  and  coats,  and  guns,  and  swords, 
and  canes,  and  chests,  and  planes,  and  books,  and  writing- 
desks,  and  every  thing  else.  And  in  a  glass  case  were  lots 
of  watches,  and  seals,  chains,  and  rings,  and  breastpins,  and 
all  kinds  of  trinkets.  At  one  of  the  little  holes,  earnestly 
talking  with  one  of  the  hook-nosed  men,  was  a  thin  woman 
in  a  faded  silk  gown  and  shawl,  holding  a  pale  little  girl  by 
the  hand.  As  I  drew  near,  she  spoke  lower  in  a  whisper ; 
and  the  man  shook  his  head,  and  looked  cross  and  rude  ;  and 
then  some  more  words  were  exchanged  over  a  miniature,  and 
some  money  was  passed  through  the  hole,  and  the  woman 
and  child  shrank  out  of  the  door. 

I  won't  sell  my  gun  to  that  man,  thought  I ;  and  I  passed 
on  to  the  next  hole  ;  and  while  waiting  there  to  be  served, 
an  elderly  man  in  a  high-Avaisted  surtout,  thrust  a  silver 
snuff-box  through ;  and  a  young  man  in  a  calico  shirt  and  a 
shiny  coat  with  a  velvet  collar  presented  a  silver  watch  ;  and 
a  sheepish  boy  in  a  cloak  took  out  a  frying-pan ;  and  another 
little  boy  had  a  Bible ;  and  all  these  things  were  thrust 
through  to  the  hook-nosed  man,  who  seemed  ready  to  hook 
any  thing  that  came  along  ;  so  I  had  no  doubt  he  would 
gladly  hook  my  gun,  for  the  long  picketed  counter  seemed 
like  a  great  seine,  that  caught  every  variety  of  fish. 

At  last  I  saw  a  chance,  and  crowded  in  for  the  hole  ;  and 
in  order  to  be  beforehand  with  a  big  man  who  just  then  came 
in,  I  pushed  my  gun  violently  through  the  hole ;  upon  which 
the  hook-nosed  man  cried  out,  thinking  I  was  going  to  shoot 
him.  But  at  last  he  took  the  gun,  turned  it  end  for  end, 
clicked  the  trigger  three  times,  and  then  said,  "  one  dollar." 

"  What  about  one  dollar  ?"  said  I. 

"  That's  all  I'll  give,"  he  replied. 

"  Well,  what  do  you  want  ?"  and  he  turned  to  the  next 
person.  This  was  a  young  man  in  a  seedy  red  cravat  and 
a  pimply  face,  that  looked  as  if  it  was  going  to  seed  like 
wise,  who,  with  a  mysterious  tapping  of  his  vest-pocket  and 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE. 


other  hints,  made  a  great  show  of  having  something  confi 
dential  to  communicate. 

But  the  hook-nosed  man  spoke  out  very  loud,  and  said, 
"  None  of  that  ;  take  it  out.  Got  a  stolen  watch  ?  We 
don't  deal  in  them  things  here." 

Upon  this  the  young  man  flushed  all  over,  and  looked 
round  to  see  who  had  heard  the  pawnbroker  ;  then  he  took 
something  very  small  out  of  his  pocket,  and  keeping  it  hidden 
under  his  palm,  pushed  it  into  the  hole. 

"  Where  did  you  get  this  ring  ?"  said  the  pawnbroker. 

"  I  want  to  pawn  it,"  whispered  the  other,  blushing  all 
over  again. 

"  What's  your  name  ?"  said  the  pawnbroker,  speaking 
very  loud. 

"  How  much  will  you  give  ?"  whispered  the  other  in 
reply,  leaning  over,  and  looking  as  if  he  wanted  to  hush  up 
the  pawnbroker. 

At  last  the  sum  was  agreed  upon,  when  the  man  behind 
the  counter  took  a  little  ticket,  and  tying  the  ring  to  it 
began  to  write  on  the  ticket  ;  all  at  once  he  asked  the  young 
rnan  where  he  lived,  a  question  which  embarrassed  him  very 
much  ;  but  at  last  he  stammered  out  a  certain  number  in 
Broadway. 

"  That's  the  City  Hotel  :  you  don't  live  there,"  said  the 
man,  cruelly  glancing  at  the  shabby  coat  before  him. 

"  Oh  !  well,"  stammered  the  other  blushing  scarlet,  "  I 
thought  this  was  only  a  sort  of  form  to  go  through  ;  I  don't 
like  to  tell  where  I  do  live,  for  I  ain't  in  the  habit  of  going 
to  pawnbrokers." 

"  You  stole  that  ring,  you  know  you  did,"  roared  out  the 
hook-nosed  man,  incensed  at  this  slur  upon  his  calling,  and 
now  seemingly  bent  on  damaging  the  young  man's  character 
for  life.  "  I'm  a  good  mind  to  call  a  constable  ;  we  don't 
take  stolen  goods  here,  I  tell  you." 

All  eyes  were  now  fixed  suspiciously  upon  this  martyrized 
young  man  ;  who  looked  ready  to  drop  into  the  earth  ;  and 


3fl  REDBURN: 


a  poor  woman  in  a  night-cap,  with  some  baby-clothes  in  her 
hand,  looked  fearfully  at  the  pawnbroker,  as  if  dreading  to 
encounter  such  a  terrible  pattern  of  integrity.  At  last  the 
young  man  slunk  off  with  his  money,  and  looking  out  of  the 
window,  I  saw  him  go  round  the  corner  so  sharply  that  he 
knocked  his  elbow  against  the  wall. 

I  waited  a  little  longer,  and  saw  several  more  served  ; 
and  having  remarked  that  the  hook-nosed  men  invariably 
fixed  their  own  price  upon  every  thing,  and  if  that  was 
refused  told  the  person  to  be  off  with  himself ;  I  concluded 
that  it  would  be  of  no  use  to  try  and  get  more  from  them 
than  they  had  offered ;  especially  when  I  saw  that  they  had 
a  great  many  fowling-pieces  hanging  up,  and  did  not  have 
particular  occasion  for  mine ;  and  more  than  that,  they 
must  be  very  well  off  and  rich,  to  treat  people  so  cavalierly. 

My  best  plan  then  seemed  to  be,  to  go  right  back  to  the 
curly-headed  pawnbroker,  and  take  up  with  my  first  offer. 
But  when  I  went  back,  the  curly-headed  man  was  very  busy 
about  something  else,  and  kept  me  waiting  a  long  time  ;  at 
last  I  got  a  chance  and  told  him  I  would  take  the  three 
dollars  he  had  offered. 

"  Ought  to  have  taken  it  when  you  could  get  it,"  he 
replied.  I  won't  give  but  two  dollars  and  a  half  for  it 
now." 

In  vain  I  expostulated ;  he  was  not  to  be  moved,  so  I 
pocketed  the  money  and  departed. 


CHAPTER  V. 

HE  PURCHASES  HIS  SEA-WARDROBE,  AND  ON  A  DISMAL  RAINY  DAY 
PICKS  UP  HIS  BOARD  AND  LODGING  ALONG  THE  WHARVES. 

THE  first  thing  I  now  did  was  to  buy  a  little  stationery, 
and  keep  my  promise  to  my  mother,  by  writing  her  ;  and  I 
also  wrote  to  my  brother,  informing  him  of  the  voyage  I 
purposed  making,  and  indulging  in  some  romantic  and  mis 
anthropic  views  of  life,  such  as  many  boys  in  my  circum 
stances,  are  accustomed  to  do. 

The  rest  of  the  two  dollars  and  a  half  I  laid  out  that 
very  morning  in  buying  a  red  woolen  shirt  near  Catharine 
Market,  a  tarpaulin  hat,  which  I  got  at  an  out-door  stand 
near  Peck  Slip,  a  belt  and  jack-knife,  and  two  or  three  trifles. 
After  these  purchases,  I  had  only  one  penny  left,  so  I  walked 
out  to  the  end  of  the  pier,  and  threw  the  penny  into  the 
water.  The  reason  why  I  did  this,  was  because  I  some 
how  felt  almost  desperate  again,  and  didn't  care  what 
became  of  me.  But  if  the  penny  had  been  a  dollar,  I  would 
have  kept  it. 

I  went  home  to  dinner  at  Mr.  Jones',  and  they  welcomed 
me  very  kindly,  and  Mrs.  Jones  kept  my  plate  full  all  the 
time  during  dinner,  so  that  I  had  no  chance  to  empty  it. 
She  seemed  to  see  that  I  felt  bad,  and  thought  plenty  of 
pudding  might  help  me.  At  any  rate,  I  never  felt  so  bad 
yet,  but  I  could  eat  a  good  dinner.  And  once,  years  after 
ward,  when  I  expected  to  be  killed  every  day,  I  remember 
my  appetite  was  very  keen,  and  I  said  to  myself,  "  Eat  away, 
Wellingborough,  while  you  can,  for  this  may  be  the  last  sup 
per  you  will  have." 

After  dinner  I  went  into  my  room,  locked  the  door  care- 


38  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


fully,  and  hung  a  towel  over  the  knob,  so  that  no  one  could 
peep  through  the  keyhole,  and  then  went  to  trying  on  my 
red  woolen  shirt  before  the  glass,  to  see  what  sort  of  a  look 
ing  sailor  I  was  going  to  make.  As  soon  as  I  got  into  the 
shirt  I  began  to  feel  a  sort  of  warm  and  red  about  the  face, 
which  I  found  was  owing  to  the  reflection  of  the  dyed  wool 
upon  my  skin.  After  that,  I  took  a  pair  of  scissors  and 
went  to  cutting  my  hair,  which  was  very  long.  I  thought 
every  little  would  help,  in  making  me  a  light  hand  to  run 
aloft. 

Next  morning  I  bade  my  kind  host  and  hostess  good-by, 
and  left  the  house  with  my  bundle,  feeling  somewhat  misan 
thropical  and  desperate  again. 

Before  I  reached  the  ship,  it  began  to  rain  hard  ;  and  as 
soon  as  I  arrived  at  the  wharf,  it  was  plain  that  there  would 
be  no  getting  to  sea  that  day. 

This  was  a  great  disappointment  to  me,  for  I  did  not 
want  to  return  to  Mr.  Jones'  again  after  bidding  them  good- 
by  ;  it  would  be  so  awkward.  So  I  concluded  to  go  on 
board  ship  for  the  present. 

When  I  reached  the  deck,  I  saw  no  one  but  a  large  man 
in  a  large  dripping  pea-jacket,  who  was  calking  down  the 
main-hatches. 

"  What  do  you  want,  Pillgarlic  ?"  said  he. 

"  I've  shipped  to  sail  in  this  ship,"  I  replied,  assuming  a^ 
little  dignity,  to  chastise  his  familiarity. 

"  What  for  ?  a  tailor  ?"  said  he,  looking  at  my  shooting 
jacket. 

I  answered  that  I  was  going  as  a  "  boy  ;"  for  so  I  was 
technically  put  down  on  the  articles. 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "  have  you  got  your  traps  aboard  ?" 

I  told  him  I  didn't  know  there  were  any  rats  in  the  ship, 
and  hadn't  brought  any  "trap." 

At  this  he  laughed  out  with  a  great  guffaw,  and  said 
there  must  be  hay-seed  in  my  hair. 

This  made  me  mad ;  but  thinking  he  must  be  one  of  the 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  39 

sailors  who  was  going  in  the  ship,  I  thought  it  wouldn't  be 
wise  to  make  an  enemy  of  him,  so  only  asked  him  where  the 
men  slept  in  the  vessel,  for  I  wanted  to  put  my  clothes  away. 
"  Where's  your  clothes  ?"  said  he. 
"  Here  in  my  bundle,"  said  T,  holding  it  up. 
"  Well  if  that's   all  you've  got,"  he  cried,  you'd  better 
chuck  it  overboard.     But  go  forward,  go  forward  to  the  fore 
castle  ;  that's  the  place  you'll  live  in  aboard  here." 

And  with  that  he  directed  me  to  a  sort  of  hole  in  the 
deck  in  the  bow  of  the  ship  ;  but  looking  down,  and  seeing 
how  dark  it  was,  I  asked  him  for  a  light. 

"  Strike  your  eyes  together  and  make  one,"  said  he,  "  we 
don't  have  any  lights  here."  So  I  groped  my  way  down 
into  the  forecastle,  which  smelt  so  bad  of  old  ropes  and  tar, 
that  it  almost  made  me  sick.  After  waiting  patiently,  I 
began  to  see  a  little  ;  and  looking  round,  at  last  perceived 
I  was  in  a  smoky  looking  place,  with  twelve  wooden  boxes 
stuck  round  the  sides.  In  some  of  these  boxes  were  large 
chests,  which  I  at  once  supposed  to  belong  to  the  sailors, 
who  must  have  taken  that  method  of  appropriating  their 
"  bunks,"  as  I  afterward  found  these  boxes  were  called. 
And  so  it  turned  out. 

After  examining  them  for  a  while,  I  selected  an  empty 
one,  and  put  my  bundle  right  in  the  middle  of  it,  so  that 
there  might  be  no  mistake  about  my  claim  to  the  place, 
particularly  as  the  bundle  was  so  small. 

This  done,  I  was  glad  to  get  on  deck  ;  and  learning  to  a 
certainty  that  the  ship  would  not  sail  till  the  next  day,  I 
resolved  to  go  ashore,  and  walk  about  till  dark,  and  then 
return  and  sleep  out  the  night  in  the  forecastle.  So  I 
walked  about  all  over,  till  I  was  weary,  and  went  into  a 
mean  liquor  shop  to  rest ;  for  having  my  tarpaulin  on,  and 
not  looking  very  gentlemanly,  I  was  afraid  to  go  into  any 
better  place,  for  fear  of  being  driven  out.  Here  I  sat  till 
I  began  to  feel  very  hungry ;  and  seeing  some  doughnuts  on 
the  counter,  I  began  to  think  what  a  fool  I  had  been,  to 


40  REDBURN: 


throw  away  my  last  penny  ;  for  the  doughnuts  were  but 
a  penny  apiece,  and  they  looked  very  plump,  and  fat,  and 
round.  I  never  saw  doughnuts  look  so  enticing  before  ;  es 
pecially  when  a  negro  came  in,  and  ate  one  before  my  eyes. 
At  last  I  thought  I  would  fill  up  a  little  by  drinking  a  glass 
of  water ;  having  read  somewhere  that  this  was  a  good  plan 
to  follow  in  a  case  like  the  present.  T  did  not  feel  thirsty, 
but  only  hungry  ;  so  had  much  ado  to  get  down  the  water  ; 
for  it  tasted  warm  ;  and  the  tumbler  had  an  ugly  flavor  ; 
the  negro  had  been  drinking  some  spirits  out  of  it  just  before. 

I  marched  off  again,  every  once  in  a  while  stopping  to 
take  in  some  more  water,  and  being  very  careful  not  to  step 
into  the  same  shop  twice,  till  night  came  on,  and  I  found 
myself  soaked  through,  for  it  had  been  raining  more  or  less 
all  day.  As  I  went  to  the  ship,  I  could  not  help  thinking 
how  lonesome  it  would  be,  to  spend  the  whole  night  in  that 
damp  and  dark  forecastle,  without  light  or  fire,  and  nothing 
to  lie  on  but  the  bare  boards  of  my  bunk.  However,  to 
drown  all  such  thoughts,  I  gulped  down  another  glass  of 
water,  though  I  was  wet  enough  outside  and  in  by  this 
time  ;  and  trying  to  put  on  a  bold  look,  as  if  I  had  just 
been  eating  a  hearty  meal,  I  stepped  aboard  the  ship. 

The  man  in  the  big  pea-jacket  was  not  to  be  seen ;  but 
on  going  forward  I  unexpectedly  found  a  young  lad  there, 
about  my  own  age  ;  and  as  soon  as  he  opened  his  mouth  I 
knew  he  was  not  an  American.  He  talked  such  a  curious 
language  though,  half  English  and  half  gibberish,  that  I 
knew  not  what  to  make  of  him ;  and  was  a  little  astonish 
ed,  when  he  told  me  he  was  an  English  boy,  from  Lanca 
shire. 

It  seemed,  he  had  come  over  from  Liverpool  in  this  very 
ship  on  her  last  voyage,  as  a  steerage  passenger ;  but  find 
ing  that  he  would  have  to  work  very  hard  to  get  along  in 
America,  and  getting  home-sick  into  the  bargain,  he  had  ar 
ranged  with  the  captain  to  work  his  passage  back. 

I  was  glad  to  have  some  company,  and  tried  to  get  him 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  41 

conversing ;  but  found  he  was  the  most  stupid  and  ignorant 
boy  I  had  ever  met  with.  I  asked  him  something  about 
the  river  Thames  ;  when  he  said  that  he  hadn't  traveled 
any  in  America  and  didn't  know  any  thing  about  the  rivers 
here.  And  when  I  told  him  the  river  Thames  was  in  En 
gland,  he  showed  no  surprise  or  shame  at  his  ignorance,  but 
only  looked  ten  times  more  stupid  than  before. 

At  last  we  went  below  into  the  forecastle,  and  both  get 
ting  into  the  same  bunk,  stretched  ourselves  out  on  the 
planks,  and  I  tried  my  best  to  get  asleep.  But  though  my 
companion  soon  began  to  snore  very  loud,  for  me,  I  could 
not  forget  myself,  owing  to  the  horrid  smell  of  the  place, 
my  being  so  wet,  cold,  and  hungry,  and  besides  all  that,  I 
felt  damp  and  clammy  about  the  heart.  I  lay  turning  over 
and  over,  listening  to  the  Lancashire  boy's  snoring,  till  at 
last  I  felt  so,  that  I  had  to  go  on  deck ;  and  there  I  walked 
till  morning,  which  I  thought  would  never  come. 

As  soon  as  I  thought  the  groceries  on  the  wharf  would 
be  open  I  left  the  ship  and  went  to  make  my  breakfast  of 
another  glass  of  water.  But  this  made  me  very  qualmish ; 
and  soon  I  felt  sick  as  death ;  my  head  was  dizzy ;  and  I 
went  staggering  along  the  walk,  almost  blind.  At  last  I 
dropt  on  a  heap  of  chain-cable,  and  shutting  my  eyes  hard, 
did  my  best  to  rally  myself,  in  which  I  succeeded,  at  last, 
enough  to  get  up  and  walk  off.  Then  I  thought  that  I 
had  done  wrong  in  not  returning  to  my  friend's  house  the 
day  before ;  and  would  have  walked  there  now,  as  it  was, 
only  it  was  at  least  three  miles  up  town ;  too  far  for  me  to 
walk  in  such  a  state,  and  I  had  no  sixpence  to  ride  in  an 
omnibus. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

HE    IS    INITIATED    IN    THE     BUSINESS    OF     CLEANING    OUT     THE 
PIG-PEN,   AND    SLUSHING    DOWN    THE    TOP-MAST. 

BY  the  time  I  got  back  to  the  ship,  every  thing  was  in 
an  uproar.  The  pea-jacket  man  was  there,  ordering  about 
a  good  many  men  in  the  rigging,  arid  people  were  bringing 
off  chickens,  and  pigs,  and  beef,  and  vegetables  from  the 
shore.  Soon  after,  another  man,  in  a  striped  calico  shirt,  a 
short  blue  jacket  and  beaver  hat,  made  his  appearance,  and 
went  to  ordering  about  the  man  in  the  big  pea-jacket ;  and 
at  last  the  captain  came  up  the  side,  and  began  to  order 
about  both  of  them. 

These  two  men  turned  out  to  be  the  first  and  second 
mates  of  the  ship. 

Thinking  to  make  friends  with  the  second  mate,  I  took 
out  an  old  tortoise-shell  snuff-box  of  my  father's,  in  which  I 
had  put  a  piece  of  Cavendish  tobacco,  to  look  sailor-like, 
and  offered  the  box  to  him  very  politely.  He  stared  at  me 
a  moment,  and  then  exclaimed,  "  Do  you  think  we  take 
snuff  aboard  here,  youngster  ?  no,  no,  no  time  for  snuff- 
taking  at  sea ;  don't  let  the  <  old  man '  see  that  snuff 
box  ;  take  my  advice  and  pitch  it  overboard  as  quick  as 
you  can." 

I  told  him  it  was  not  snuff,  but  tobacco ;  when  he  said, 
he  had  plenty  of  tobacco  of  his  own,  and  never  carried  any 
such  nonsense  about  him  as  a  tobacco-box.  With  that,  he 
went  off  about  his  business,  and  left  me  feeling  foolish 
enough.  But  I  had  reason  to  be  glad  he  had  acted  thus, 
for  if  he  had  not,  I  think  I  should  have  offered  my  box  to 
the  chief  mate,  who  in  that  case,  from  what  I  afterward 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  43 

learned  of  him,  would  have  knocked  me  down,  or  done 
something  else  equally  uncivil. 

As  I  was  standing  looking  round  me,  the  chief  mate  ap 
proached  in  a  great  hurry  about  something,  and  seeing  me 
in  his  way,  cried  out,  "  Ashore  with  you,  you  young  loafer  ! 
There's  no  stealings  here  ;  sail  away,  I  tell  you,  with  that 
shooting-jacket  !" 

Upon  this  I  retreated,  saying  that  I  was  going  out  in  the 
ship  as  a  sailor. 

"  A  sailor  !"  he  cried,  "  a  barber's  clerk,  you  mean  ;  you 
going  out  in  the  ship  ?  what,  in  that  jacket  ?  Hang  me,  I 
hope  the  old  man  hasn't  been  shipping  any  more  greenhorns 
like  you — he'll  make  a  shipwreck  of  it  if  he  has.  But  this 
is  the  way  nowadays ;  to  save  a  few  dollars  in  seamen's 
wages,  they  think  nothing  of  shipping  a  parcel  of  farmers 
and  clodhoppers  and  baby-boys.  What's  your  name,  Pill- 
garlic  ?" 

"  Redburn,"  said  I. 

"  A  pretty  handle  to  a  man,  that ;  scorch  you  to  take 
hold  of  it ;  havn't  you  got  any  other  ?" 

"  Wellingborough,"  said  I. 

"Worse  yet.  Who  had  the  baptizing  of  ye?  Why 
didn't  they  call  you  Jack,  or  Jill,  or  something  short  and 
handy.  But  I'll  baptize  you  over  again.  D'ye  hear,  sir, 
henceforth  your  name  is  Buttons.  And  now  do  you  go, 
Buttons,  and  clean  out  that  pig-pen  in  the  long-boat ;  it  has 
not  been  cleaned  out  since  last  voyage.  And  bear  a  hand 
about  it,  d'ye  hear  ;  there's  them  pigs  there  waiting  to  be 
put  in  ;  come,  be  off  about  it,  now." 

Was  this  then  the  beginning  of  my  sea-career  ?  set  to 
cleaning  out  a  pig-pen,  the  very  first  thing  ? 

But  I  thought  it  best  to  say  nothing;  I  had  bound  my 
self  to  obey  orders,  and  it  was  too  late  to  retreat.  So  I  only 
asked  for  a  shovel,  or  spade,  or  something  else  to  work  with. 

"  We  don't  dig  gardens  here,"  was  the  reply;  "  dig  it  out 
with  your  teeth  !" 


44  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


After  looking  round,  I  found  a  stick  and  went  to  scraping 
out  the  pen,  which  was  awkward  work  enough,  for  another 
boat  called  the  "jolly-boat,"  was  capsized  right  over  the 
long-boat,  which  brought  them  almost  close  together.  These 
two  boats  were  in  the  middle  of  the  deck.  I  managed  to 
crawl  inside  of  the  long-boat ;  and  after  barking  my  shins 
against  the  seats,  and  bumping  my  head  a  good  many  times, 
I  got  along  to  the  stern,  where  the  pig-pen  was. 

While  I  was  hard  at  work  a  drunken  sailor  peeped  in, 
and  cried  out  to  his  comrades,  "  Look  here,  my  lads,  what 
sort  of  a  pig  do  you  call  this  ?  Hallo  !  inside  there  !  what 
are  you  'bout  there  ?  trying  to  stow  yourself  away  to  steal 
a  passage  to  Liverpool?  Out  of  that !  out  of  that,  I  say." 
But  just  then  the  mate  came  along  and  ordered  this  drunken 
rascal  ashore. 

The  pig-pen  being  cleaned  out,  I  was  set  to  work  picking 
up  some  shavings,  which  lay  about  the  deck ;  for  there  had 
been  carpenters  at  work  on  board.  The  mate  ordered  me  to 
throw  these  shavings  into  the  long-boat  at  a  particular  place 
between  two  of  the  seats.  But  as  I  found  it  hard  work  to 
push  the  shavings  through  in  that  place,  and  as  it  looked 
wet  there,  I  thought  it  would  be  better  for  the  shavings  as 
well  as  myself,  to  thrust  them  where  there  was  a  larger 
opening  and  a  dry  spot.  While  I  was  thus  employed,  the 
mate  observing  me,  exclaimed  with  an  oath,  "  Didn't  I  tell 
you  to  put  those  shavings  somewhere  else  ?  Do  what  I  tell 
you,  now,  Buttons,  or  mind  your  eye  !" 

Stifling  my  indignation  at  his  rudeness,  which  by  this 
time  T  found  was  my  only  plan,  I  replied  that  that  was  not 
so  good  a  place  for  the  shavings  as  that  which  I  myself  had 
selected,  and  asked  him  to  tell  me  why  he  wanted  me  to  put 
them  in  the  place  he  designated.  Upon  this,  he  flew  into  a 
terrible  rage,  and  without  explanation  reiterated  his  order 
like  a  clap  of  thunder. 

This  was  my  first  lesson  in  the  discipline  of  the  sea,  and  I 
never  forgot  it.  From  that  time  I  learned  that  sea-officers 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  45 

never  gave  reasons  for  any  thing  they  order  to  be  done.  It 
is  enough  that  they  command  it,  so  that  the  motto  is,  "  Obey 
orders,  though  you  break  owners" 

I  now  began  to  feel  very  faint  and  sick  again,  and  longed 
for  the  ship  to  be  leaving  the  dock ;  for  then  I  made  no  doubt 
we  would  soon  be  having  something  to  eat.  But  as  yet,  I 
saw  none  of  the  sailors  on  board,  and  as  for  the  men  at  work 
in  the  rigging,  I  found  out  that  they  were  "  riggers"  that 
is,  men  living  ashore,  who  worked  by  the  day  in  getting  ships 
ready  for  sea ;  and  this  I  found  out  to  my  cost,  for  yielding 
to  the  kind  blandishment  of  one  of  these  riggers,  I  had 
swapped  away  my  jack-knife  with  him  for  a  much  poorer 
one  of  his  own,  thinking  to  secure  a  sailor  friend  for  the 
voyage. 

At  last  I  watched  my  chance,  and  while  people's  backs 
were  turned,  I  seized  a  carrot  from  several  bunches  lying 
on  deck,  and  clapping  it  under  the  skirts  of  my  shooting- 
jacket,  went  forward  to  eat  it ;  for  I  had  often  eaten  raw 
carrots,  which  taste  something  like  chestnuts.  This  carrot 
refreshed  me  a  good  deal,  though  at  the  expense  of  a  little 
pain  in  my  stomach.  Hardly  had  I  disposed  of  it,  when  I 
heard  the  chief  mate's  voice  crying  out  for  "  Buttons."  I 
ran  after  him,  and  received  an  order  to  go  aloft  and  "  slush 
down  the  main-top  mast." 

This  was  all  Greek  to  me,  and  after  receiving  the  order, 
I  stood  staring  about  me,  wondering  what  it  was  that  was 
to  be  done.  But  the  mate  had  turned  on  his  heel,  and 
made  no  explanations.  At  length  I  followed  after  him,  and 
asked  what  I  must  do. 

"  Didn't  I  tell  you  to  slush  down  the  main-top  mast  ?"  he 
shouted. 

"  You  did,"  said  I,  «  but  I  don't  know  what  that  means." 

"  Green  as  grass  !  a  regular  cabbage-head  !"  he  exclaimed 
to  himself.  A  fine  time  I'll  have  with  such  a  greenhorn 
aboard.  Look  you,  youngster.  Look  up  to  that  long  pole 
there — d'ye  see  it  ?  that  piece  of  a  tree  there,  you  timber- 


46  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


head — well — take  this  bucket  here,  and  go  up  the  rigging — 
that  rope-ladder  there — do  you  understand  ? — and  dab  this 
slush  all  over  the  mast,  and  look  out  for  your  head  if  one 
drop  falls  on  deck.  Be  off  now,  Buttons." 

The  eventful  hour  had  arrived  ;  for  the  first  time  in  my 
life  I  was  to  ascend  a  ship's  mast.  Had  I  been  well  and 
hearty,  perhaps  I  should  have  felt  a  little  shaky  at  the 
thought ;  but  as  I  was  then,  weak  and  faint,  the  bare 
thought  appalled  me. 

But  there  was  no  hanging  back ;  it  would  look  like  cow 
ardice,  and  I  could  not  bring  myself  to  confess  that  I  was 
suffering  for  want  of  food  ;  so  rallying  again,  I  took  up  the 
bucket. 

It  was  a  heavy  bucket,  with  strong  iron  hoops,  and  might 
have  held  perhaps  two  gallons.  But  it  was  only  half  full 
now  of  a  sort  of  thick  lobbered  gravy,  which  I  afterward 
learned  was  boiled  out  of  the  salt  beef  used  by  the  sailors. 
Upon  getting  into  the  rigging,  I  found  it  was  no  easy  job  to 
carry  this  heavy  bucket  up  with  me.  The  rope  handle  of 
it  was  so  slippery  with  grease,  that  although  I  twisted  it 
several  times  about  my  wrist,  it  would  be  still  twirling 
round  and  round,  and  slipping  off.  Spite  of  this,  however, 
I  managed  to  mount  as  far  as  the  "  top,"  the  clumsy  bucket 
half  the  time  straddling  and  swinging  about  between  my 
legs,  and  in  momentary  danger  of  capsizing.  Arrived  at 
the  "  top,"  I  came  to  a  dead  halt,  and  looked  up.  How  to 
surmount  that  overhanging  impediment  completely  posed  me 
for  the  time.  But  at  last,  with  much  straining,  I  contrived 
to  place  my  bucket  in  the  "top;"  and  then,  trusting  to 
Providence,  swung  myself  up  after  it.  The  rest  of  the  road 
was  comparatively  easy  ;  though  whenever  I  incautiously 
looked  down  toward  the  deck,  my  head  spun  round  so  from 
weakness,  that  I  was  obliged  to  shut  my  eyes  to  recover 
myself.  I  do  not  remember  much  more.  I  only  recollect 
my  safe  return  to  the  deck. 

In  a  short  time  the  bustle  of  the  ship  increased :  the 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  47 

trunks  of  cabin  passengers  arrived,  and  the  chests  and  boxes 
of  the  steerage  passengers,  besides  baskets  of  wine  and  fruit 
for  the  captain. 

At  last  we  cast  loose,  and  swinging  out  into  the  stream, 
came  to  anchor,  and  hoisted  the  signal  for  sailing.  Every 
thing,  it  seemed,  was  on  board  but  the  crew  ;  who  in  a  few 
hours  after,  came  off,  one  by  one,  in  Whitehall  boats,  their 
chests  in  the  bow,  and  themselves  lying  back  in  the  stern 
like  lords  ;  and  showing  very  plainly  the  complacency  they 
felt  in  keeping  the  whole  ship  waiting  for  their  lordships. 

"  Ay,  ay,"  muttered  the  chief  mate,  as  they  rolled  out  of 
their  boats  and  swaggered  on  deck,  "  it's  your  turn  now,  but 
it  will  be  mine  before  long.  Yaw  about  while  you  may,  my 
hearties,  I'll  do  the  yawing  after  the  anchor's  up." 

Several  of  the  sailors  were  very  drunk,  and  one  of  them 
was  lifted  on  board  insensible  by  his  landlord,  who  carried 
him  down  below  and  dumped  him  into  a  bunk.  And  two 
other  sailors,  as  soon  as  they  made  their  appearance,  imme 
diately  went  below  to  sleep  off  the  fumes  of  their  drink. 

At  last,  all  the  crew  being  on  board,  word  was  passed  to 
go  to  dinner  fore  and  aft,  an  order  that  made  my  heart  jump 
with  delight,  for  now  my  long  fast  would  be  broken.  But 
though  the  sailors,  surfeited  with  eating  and  drinking  ashore, 
did  not  then  touch  the  salt  beef  and  potatoes  which  the 
black  cook  handed  down  into  the  forecastle  ;  and  though  this 
left  the  whole  allowance  to  me  ;  to  my  surprise,  I  found  that 
I  could  eat  little  or  nothing  ;  for  now  I  only  felt  deadly 
faint,  but  not  hungry. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

HE  GETS  TO  SEA,  AND  FEELS  VERY  BAD. 

EVERY  thing  at  last  being  in  readiness,  the  pilot  came  on 
board,  and  all  hands  were  called  to  up  anchor.  While  I 
worked  at  my  bar,  I  could  not  help  observing  how  haggard 
the  men  looked,  and  how  much  they  suffered  from  this  vio 
lent  exercise,  after  the  terrific  dissipation  in  which  they  had 
been  indulging  ashore.  But  I  soon  learnt  that  sailors 
breathe  nothing  about  such  things,  but  strive  their  best  to 
appear  all  alive  and  hearty,  though  it  comes  very  hard  for 
many  of  them. 

The  anchor  being  secured,  a  steam  tug-boat  with  a 
strong  name,  the  Hercules,  took  hold  of  us ;  and  away  we 
went  past  the  long  line  of  shipping,  and  wharves,  and  ware 
houses  ;  and  rounded  the  green  south  point  of  the  island 
where  the  Battery  is,  and  passed  Governor's  Island,  and 
pointed  right  out  for  the  Narrows. 

My  heart  was  like  lead,  and  I  felt  bad  enough,  Heaven 
knows ;  but  then,  there  was  plenty  of  work  to  be  done, 
which  kept  my  thoughts  from  becoming  too  much  for  me. 

And  I  tried  to  think  all  the  time,  that  I  was  going  to 
England,  and  that,  before  many  months,  I  should  have  actu 
ally  been  there  and  home  again,  telling  my  adventures  to 
my  brothers  and  sisters ;  and  with  what  delight  they  would 
listen,  and  how  they  would  look  up  to  me  then,  and  rev 
erence  my  sayings  ;  and  how  that  even  my  elder  brother 
would  be  forced  to  treat  me  with  great  consideration,  as 
having  crossed  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  which  he  had  never 
done,  and  there  was  no  probability  he  ever  would. 

With  such  thoughts  as  these  I  endeavored  to  shake  off 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  49 

my  lieavy-heartedness  ;  but  it  would  not  do  at  all ;  for  this 
was  only  the  first  day  of  the  voyage,  and  many  weeks,  nay, 
several  whole  months  must  elapse  before  the  voyage  was 
ended ;  and  who  could  tell  what  might  happen  to  me  ;  for 
when  I  looked  up  at  the  high,  giddy  masts,  and  thought 
how  often  I  must  be  going  up  and  down  them,  I  thought 
sure  enough  that  some  luckless  day  or  other,  I  would  cer 
tainly  fall  overboard  and  be  drowned.  And  then,  I  thought 
of  lying  down  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  stark  alone,  with 
.the  great  waves  rolling  over  me,  and  no  one  in  the  wide 
world  knowing  that  I  was  there.  And  I  thought  how 
much  better  and  sweeter  it  must  be,  to  be  buried  under  the 
pleasant  hedge  that  bounded  the  sunny  south  side  of  our 
village  grave-yard,  where  every  Sunday  I  had  used  to  walk 
after  church  in  the  afternoon ;  and  I  almost  wished  I  was 
there  now  ;  yes,  dead  and  buried  in  that  church-yard.  All 
the  time  my  eyes  were  filled  with  tears,  and  I  kept  holding 
my  breath,  to  choke  down  the  sobs,  for  indeed  I  could  not 
help  feeling  as  I  did,  and  no  doubt  any  boy  in  the  world 
would  have  felt  just  as  I  did  then. 

As  the  steamer  carried  us  further  and  further  down  the 
bay,  and  we  passed  ships  lying  at  anchor,  with  men  gazing 
at  us  and  waving  their  hats  ;  and  small  boats  with  ladies 
in  them  waving  their  handkerchiefs  ;  and  passed  the  green 
shore  of  Staten  Island,  and  caught  sight  of  so  many  beau 
tiful  cottages  all  overrun  with  vines,  and  planted  on  the 
beautiful  fresh  mossy  hill-sides ;  oh !  then  I  would  have 
given  any  thing  if  instead  of  sailing  out  of  the  bay,  we 
were  only  coming  into  it ;  if  we  had  crossed  the  ocean  and 
returned,  gone  over  and  come  back ;  and  my  heart  leaped 
up  in  me  like  something  alive  when  I  thought  of  really  en 
tering  that  bay  at  the  end  of  the  voyage.  But  that  was  so 
far  distant,  that  it  seemed  it  could  never  be.  No,  never, 
never  more  would  I  see  New  York  again. 

And  what  shocked  me  more  than  any  thing  else,  was  to 
hear  some  of  the  sailors,  while  they  were  at  work  coiling 

C 


50  REDBURN: 


away  the  hawsers,  talking  about  the  boarding-houses  they 
were  going  to,  when  they  came  back ;  and  how  that  some 
friends  of  theirs  had  promised  to  be  on  the  wharf  when  the 
ship  returned,  to  take  them  and  their  chests  right  up  to 
Franklin-square  where  they  lived ;  and  how  that  they 
would  have  a  good  dinner  ready,  and  plenty  of  cigars  and 
spirits  out  on  the  balcony.  I  say  this  kind  of  talking 
shocked  me,  for  they  did  not  seem  to  consider,  as  I  did,  that 
before  any  thing  like  that  could  happen,  we  must  cross  the 
great  Atlantic  Ocean,  cross  over  from  America  to  Europe 
and  back  again,  many  thousand  miles  of  foaming  ocean. 

At  that  time  I  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  these  sailors ; 
but  this  much  I  thought,  that  when  they  were  boys,  they 
could  never  have  gone  to  the  Sunday  School ;  for  they  swore 
so,  it  made  my  ears  tingle,  and  used  words  that  I  never  could 
hear  without  a  dreadful  loathing. 

And  are  these  the  men,  I  thought  to  myself,  that  I  must 
live  with  so  long  ?  these  the  men  I  am  to  eat  with,  and 
sleep  with  all  the  time  ?  And  besides,  I  now  began  to  see, 
that  they  were  not  going  to  be  very  kind  to  me  ;  but  I  will 
tell  all  about  that  when  the  proper  time  comes. 

Now  you  must  not  think,  that  because  all  these  things 
were  passing  through  my  mind,  that  I  had  nothing  to  do 
but  sit  still  and  think ;  no,  no,  I  was  hard  at  work  :  for  as 
long  as  the  steamer  had  hold  of  us,  we  were  very  busy  coiling 
away  ropes  and  cables,  and  putting  the  decks  in  order ;  which 
were  littered  all  over  with  odds  and  ends  of  things  that  had 
to  be  put  away. 

At  last  we  got  as  far  as  the  Narrows,  which  every  body 
knows  is  the  entrance  to  New  York  Harbor  from  sea  ;  and 
it  may  well  be  called  the  Narrows,  for  when  you  go  in  or 
out,  it  seems  like  going  in  or  out  of  a  door- way ;  and  when 
you  go  out  of  these  Narrows  on  a  long  voyage  like  this  of 
mine,  it  seems  like  going  out  into  the  broad  highway,  where 
not  a  soul  is  to  be  seen.  For  far  away  and  away,  stretches 
the  great  Atlantic  Ocean ;  and  all  you  can  see  beyond  is 


HIS    FIRST   VOYAGE.  51 

where  the  sky  comes  down  to  the  water.  It  looks  lonely 
and  desolate  enough,  and  I  could  hardly  believe,  as  I  gazed 
around  me,  that  there  could  be  any  land  beyond,  or  any 
place  like  Europe  or  England  or  Liverpool  in  the  great 
wide  world.  It  seemed  too  strange,  and  wonderful,  and  alto 
gether  incredible,  that  there  could  really  be  cities  and  towns 
and  villages  and  green  fields  and  hedges  and  farm-yards 
and  orchards,  away  over  that  wide  blank  of  sea,  and  away 
beyond  the  place  where  the  sky  came  down  to  the  water. 
And  to  think  of  steering  right  out  among  those  waves,  and 
leaving  the  bright  land  behind,  and  the  dark  night  coming 
on,  too,  seemed  wild  and  foolhardy  ;  and  I  looked  with  a 
sort  of  fear  at  the  sailors  standing  by  me,  who  could  be  so 
thoughtless  at  such  a  time.  But  then  I  remembered,  how 
many  times  my  own  father  had  said  he  had  crossed  the 
ocean ;  and  I  had  never  dreamed  of  such  a  thing  as  doubt 
ing  him ;  for  I  always  thought  him  a  marvelous  being,  infi 
nitely  purer  and  greater  than  I  was,  who  could  not  by  any 
possibility  do  wrong,  or  say  an  untruth.  Yet  now,  how 
could  I  credit  it,  that  he,  my -own  father,  whom  I  so  well 
remembered,  had  ever  sailed  out  of  these  Narrows,  and  sailed 
right  through  the  sky  and  water  line,  and  gone  to  England, 
and  France,  Liverpool,  and  Marseilles.  It  was  too  wonder 
ful  to  believe. 

Now,  on  the  right  hand  side  of  the  Narrows  as  you  go 
out,  the  land  is  quite  high ;  and  on  the  top  of  a  fine  cliff  is 
a  great  castle  or  fort,  all  in  ruins,  and  with  the  trees  grow 
ing  round  it.  It  was  built  by  Governor  Tompkins  in  the 
time  of  the  last  war  with  England,  but  was  never  used,  I 
believe,  and  so  they  left  it  to  decay.  I  had  visited  the  place 
once  when  we  lived  in  New  York,  as  long  ago  almost  as  I 
could  remember,  with  my  father,  and  an  uncle  of  mine,  an 
old  sea-captain,  with  white  hair,  who  used  to  sail  to  a  place 
called  Archangel  in  Russia,  and  who  used  to  tell  me  that 
he  was  with  Captain  LangsdorfF,  when  Captain  LangsdorfF 
crossed  over  by  land  from  the  sea  of  Okotsk  in  Asia  to  St. 


52  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


Petersburgh,  drawn  by  large  dogs  in  a  sled.  I  mention  this 
of  my  uncle,  because  he  was  the  very  first  sea-captain  I  had 
ever  seen,  and  his  white  hair  and  fine  handsome  florid  face 
made  so  strong  an  impression  upon  me,  that  I  have  never 
forgotten  him,  though  I  only  saw  him  during  this  one  visit 
of  his  to  New  York,  for  he  was  lost  in  the  White  Sea  some 
years  after. 

But  I  meant  to  speak  about  the  fort.  It  was  a  beautiful 
place,  as  I  remembered  it,  and  very  wonderful  and  romantic, 
too,  as  it  appeared  to  me,  when  I  went  there  with  my  uncle. 
On  the  side  away  from  the  water  was  a  green  grove  of  trees, 
very  thick  and  shady  ;  and  through  this  grove,  in  a  sort  of 
twilight  you  came  to  an  arch  in  the  wall  of  the  fort,  dark 
as  night ;  and  going  in,  you  groped  about  in  long  vaults, 
twisting  and  turning  on  every  side,  till  at  last  you  caught  a 
peep  of  green  grass  and  sunlight,  and  all  at  once  came  out 
in  an  open  space  in  the  middle  of  the  castle.  And  there 
you  would  see  cows  quietly  grazing,  or  ruminating  under  the 
shade  of  young  trees,  and  perhaps  a  calf  frisking  about,  and 
trying  to  catch  its  own  tail ;  and  sheep  clambering  among 
the  mossy  ruins,  and  cropping  the  little  tufts  of  grass  sprout 
ing  out  of  the  sides  of  the  embrasures  for  cannon.  And  once 
I  saw  a  black  goat  with  a  long  beard,  and  crumpled  horns, 
standing  with  his  fore-feet  lifted  high  up  on  the  topmost  par 
apet,  and  looking  to  sea,  as  if  he  were  watching  for  a  ship 
that  was  bringing  over  his  cousin.  I  can  see  him  even  now, 
and  though  I  have  changed  since  then,  the  black  goat  looks 
just  the  same  as  ever ;  and  so  I  suppose  he  would,  if  I  live 
to  be  as  old  as  Methusaleh,  and  have  as  great  a  memory  as 
he  must  have  had.  Yes,  the  fort  was  a  beautiful,  quiet, 
charming  spot.  I  should  like  to  build  a  little  cottage  in  the 
middle  of  it,  and  live  there  all  my  life.  It  was  noon-day 
when  I  was  there,  in  the  month  of  June,  and  there  was 
little  wind  to  stir  the  trees,  and  every  thing  looked  as  if  it 
was  waiting  for  something,  arid  the  sky  overhead  was  blue 
as  my  mother's  eye,  and  I  was  so  glad  and  happy  then. 


HIS   FIRST    VOYAGE.  53 

But  I  must  not  think  of  those  delightful  days,  before  my 
father  became  a  bankrupt,  and  died,  and  we  removed  from 
the  city  ;  for  when  I  think  of  those  days,  something  rises 
up  in  my  throat  and  almost  strangles  me. 

Now,  as  we  sailed  through  the  Narrows,  I  caught  sight 
of  that  beautiful  fort  on  the  cliff,  and  could  not  help  con 
trasting  my  situation  now,  with  what  it  was  when  with  my 
father  and  uncle  I  went  there  so  long  ago.  Then  I  never 
thought  of  working  for  my  living,  and  never  knew  that  there 
were  hard  hearts  in  the  world  ;  and  knew  so  little  of  money, 
that  when  I  bought  a  stick  of  candy,  and  laid  down  a  six 
pence,  I  thought  the  confectioner  returned  five  cents,  only 
that  I  might  have  money  to  buy  something  else,  and  not  be 
cause  the  pennies  were  my  change,  and  therefore  mine  by 
good  rights.  How  different  my  idea  of  money  now  ! 

Then  I  was  a  schoolboy,  and  thought  of  going  to  college 
in  time  ;  and  had  vague  thoughts  of  becoming  a  great  orator 
like  Patrick  Henry,  whose  speeches  I  used  to  speak  on  the 
stage ;  but  now,  I  was  a  poor  friendless  boy,  far  away  from 
my  home,  and  voluntarily  in  the  way  of  becoming  a  mis 
erable  sailor  for  life.  And  what  made  it  more  bitter  to  me, 
was  to  think  of  how  well  off  were  my  cousins,  who  were 
happy  and  rich,  and  lived  at  home  with  my  uncles  and  aunts, 
with  no  thought  of  going  to  sea  for  a  living.  I  tried  to 
think  that  it  was  all  a  dream,  that  I  was  not  where  I  was, 
not  on  board  of  a  ship,  but  that  I  was  at  home  again  in  the 
city,  with  my  father  alive,  and  my  mother  bright  and  happy 
as  she  used  to  be.  But  it  would  not  do.  I  was  indeed 
where  I  was,  and  here  was  the  ship,  and  there  was  the  fort. 
So,  after  casting  a  last  look  at  some  boys  who  were  standing 
on  the  parapet,  gazing  off  to  sea,  I  turned  away  heavily,  and 
resolved  not  to  look  at  the  land  any  more. 

About  sunset  we  got  fairly  "outside,"  and  well  may  it  so 
be  called  ;  for  I  felt  thrust  out  of  the  world.  Then  the 
breeze  began  to  blow,  and  the  sails  were  loosed,  arid  hoisted ; 
and  after  a  while,  the  steamboat  left  us,  and  ibr  the  first 


54  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


time  I  felt  the  ship  roll,  a  strange  feeling  enough,  as  if  it 
were  a  great  barrel  in  the  water.  Shortly  after,  I  observed 
a  swift  little  schooner  running  across  our  bows,  and  re-cross 
ing  again  and  again  ;  andh  while  I  was  wondering  what  she 
could  be,  she  suddenly  lowered  her  sails,  and  two  men  took 
hold  of  a  little  boat  on  her  deck,  and  launched  it  overboard 
as  if  it  had  been  a  chip.  Then  I  noticed  that  our  pilot,  a 
red-faced  man  in  a  rough  blue  coat,  who  to  my  astonish 
ment  had  all  this  time  been  giving  orders  instead  of  the 
captain ;  I  noticed  that  he  began  to  button  up  his  coat  to 
the  throat,  like  a  prudent  person  about  leaving  a  house  at 
night  in  a  lonely  square,  to  go  home  ;  and  he  left  the  giving 
orders  to  the  chief  mate,  and  stood  apart  talking  with  the 
captain,  and  put  his  hand  into  his  pocket,  and  gave  him 
some  newspapers. 

And  in  a  few  minutes,  when  we  had  stopped  our  head 
way,  and  allowed  the  little  boat  to  come  alongside,  he  shook 
hands  with  the  captain  and  officers  and  bade  them  good-by, 
without  saying  a  syllable  of  farewell  to  me  and  the  sailors  ; 
and  so  he  went  laughing  over  the  side,  and  got  into  the  boat, 
and  they  pulled  him  off  to  the  schooner,  and  then  the  schoon 
er  made  sail  and  glided  under  our  stern,  her  men  standing  up 
and  waving  their  hats,  and  cheering  ;  and  that  was  the  last 
we  saw  of  America. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

HE     IS     PUT     INTO     THE    LARBOARD    WATCH  ;     GETS     SEA-SICK  J 
AND   RELATES   SOME   OTHER  OF   HIS   EXPERIENCES. 

IT  was  now  getting  dark,  when  all  at  once  the  sailors 
were  ordered  on  the  quarter-deck,  and  of  course  I  went  along 
with  them. 

What  is  to  come  now,  thought  I ;  but  I  soon  found  out. 
It  seemed  we  were  going  to  be  divided  into  watches.  The 
chief  mate  began  by  selecting  a  stout  good-looking  sailor  for 
his  watch ;  and  then  the  second  mate's  turn  came  to  choose, 
and  he  also  chose  a  stout  good-looking  sailor.  But  it  was 
not  me  ; — no  ;  and  I  noticed,  as  they  went  on  choosing,  one 
after  the  other  in  regular  rotation,  that  both  of  the  mates 
never  so  much  as  looked  at  me,  but  kept  going  round  among 
the  rest,  peering  into  their  faces,  for  it  was  dusk,  and  telling 
them  not  to  hide  themselves  away  so  in  their  jackets.  But 
the  sailors,  especially  the  stout  good-looking  ones,  seemed  to 
make  a  point  of  lounging  as  much  out  of  the  way  as  possible, 
and  slouching  their  hats  over  their  eyes ;  and  although  it 
may  only  be  a  fancy  of  mine,  I  certainly  thought  that  they 
affected  a  sort  of  lordly  indifference  as  to  whose  watch  they 
were  going  to  be  in ;  and  did  not  think  it  worth  while  to 
look  any  way  anxious  about  the  matter.  And  the  very  men 
who,  a  few  minutes  before,  had  showed  the  most  alacrity  and 
promptitude  in  jumping  into  the  rigging  and  running  aloft  at 
the  word  of  command,  now  lounged  against  the  bulwarks 
the  most  lazily  ;  as  if  they  were  quite  sure,  that  by  this 
time  the  officers  must  know  who  the  best  men  were,  and 
they  valued  themselves  well  enough  to  be  willing  to  put  the 
officers  to  the  trouble  of  searching  them  out ;  for  if  they 
were  worth  having,  they  were  worth  seeking. 


56  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


At  last  they  were  all  chosen  but  me ;  and  it  was  the 
chief  mate's  next  turn  to  choose ;  though  there  could  be 
little  choosing  in  my  case,,  since  I  was  a  thirteener,  and 
must,  whether  or  no,  go  over  to  the  next  column,  like  the 
odd  figure  you  carry  along  when  you  do  a  sum  in  addition. 

"  Well,  Buttons,"  said  the  chief  mate,  "  I  thought  I'd 
got  rid  of  you.  And  as  it  is,  Mr.  Rigs,"  he  added,  speaking 
to  the  second  mate,  "  I  guess  you  had  better  take  him  into 
your  watch ; — there,  I'll  let  you  have  him,  and  then  you'll 
be  one  stronger  than  me." 

"  No,  I  thank  you,"  said  Mr.  Rigs. 

"  You  had  better,"  said  the  chief  mate — "  see,  he's  not  a 
bad  looking  chap — he's  a  little  green,  to  be  sure,  but  you 
were  so  once  yourself,  you  know,  Rigs." 

"  No,  I  thank  you,"  said  the  second  mate  again.  "  Take 
him  yourself — he's  yours  by  g;ood  rights — I  don't  want 
him."  And  so  they  put  me  in  the  chief  mate's  division, 
that  is  the  larboard  watch. 

While  this  scene  was  going  on,  I  felt  shabby  enough  ; 
there  I  stood,  just  like  a  silly  sheep,  over  whom  two  butchers 
are  bargaining.  Nothing  that  had  yet  happened  so  forcibly 
reminded  me  of  where  I  was,  and  what  I  had  come  to.  I 
was  very  glad  when  they  sent  us  forward  again. 

As  we  were  going  forward,  the  second  mate  called  one  of 
the  sailors  by  name  : — "  You,  Bill  ?"  and  Bill  answered, 
"  Sir  ?"  just  as  if  the  second  mate  was  a  born  gentleman. 
It  surprised  me  not  a  little,  to  see  a  man  in  such  a  shabby, 
shaggy  old  jacket  addressed  so  respectfully  ;  but  I  had  been 
quite  as  much  surprised  when  I  heard  the  chief  mate  call 
him  Mr.  Rigs  during  the  scene  on  the  quarter-deck ;  as  if 
this  Mr.  Rigs  was  a  great  merchant  living  in  a  marble 
house  in  Lafayette  Place.  But  I  was  not  very  long  in  find 
ing  out,  that  at  sea  all  officers  ure  Misters,  and  would  take 
it  for  an  insult  if  any  seaman  presumed  to  omit  calling  them 
so.  And  it  is  also  one  of  their  rights  and  privileges  to  be 
called  sir  when  addressed — Yes,  sir;  No,  sir;  Ay,  ay, 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  57 

sir:  and  they  are  as  particular  about  being  sirred  as  so 
many  knights  and  baronets  ;  though  their  titles  are  not  he 
reditary,  as  is  the  case  with  the  Sir  Johns  and  Sir  Joshuas 
in  England.  But  so  far  as  the  second  mate  is  concerned, 
his  titles  are  the  only  dignities  he  enjoys  ;  for,  upon  the 
whole,  he  leads  a  puppyish  life  indeed.  He  is  not  deemed 
company  at  any  time  for  the  captain,  though  the  chief  mate 
occasionally  is,  at  least  deck-company,  though  not  in  the 
cabin ;  and  besides  this,  the  second  mate  has  to  breakfast, 
lunch,  dine,  and  sup  off  the  leavings  of  the  cabin  table,  and 
even  the  steward,  who  is  accountable  to  nobody  but  the 
captain,  sometimes  treats  him  cavalierly ;  and  he  has  to  run 
aloft  when  topsails  are  reefed  ;  and  put  his  hand  a  good  way 
down  into  the  tar-bucket ;  and  keep  the  key  of  the  boat 
swain's  locker,  and  fetch  and  carry  balls  of  marline  and 
seizing-stuff  for  the  sailors  when  at  work  in  the  rigging ; 
besides  doing  many  other  things,  which  a  true-born  baronet 
of  any  spirit  would  rather  die  and  give  up  his  title  than 
stand. 

Having  been  divided  into  watches  we  were  sent  to  sup 
per  ;  but  I  could  not  eat  any  thing  except  a  little  biscuit, 
though  I  should  have  liked  to  have  some  good  tea ;  but  as 
I  had  no  pot  to  get  it  in,  and  was  rather  nervous  about 
asking  the  rough  sailors  to  let  me  drink  out  of  theirs  ;  I  was 
obliged  to  go  without  a  sip.  I  thought  of  going  to  the 
black  cook  and  begging  a  tin  cup  ;  but  he  looked  so  cross 
and  ugly  then,  that  the  sight  of  him  almost  frightened  the 
idea  out  'of  me. 

When  supper  was  over,  for  they  never  talk  about  going 
to  tea  aboard  of  a  ship,  the  watch  to  which  I  belonged  was 
called  on  deck ;  and  we  were  told  it  was  for  us  to  stand 
the  first  night  watch,  that  is,  from  eight  o'clock  till  mid 
night. 

I  now  began  to  feel  unsettled  and  ill  at  ease  about  the 
stomach,  as  if  matters  were  all  topsy-turvy  there  ;  and  felt 
strange  and  giddy  about  the  head  ;  and  so  I  made  no  doubt 

c* 


08  REDBURN: 


that  .this  was  the  beginning  of  that  dreadful  thing,  the  sea 
sickness.  Feeling  worse  and  worse,  I  told  one  of  the  sail 
ors  .how  it  was  with  me,  and  begged  him  to  make  my  ex 
cuses  very  civilly  to  the  chief  mate,  for  I  thought  I  would 
go  below  and  spend  the  night  in  my  bunk.  But  he  only 
laughed  at  me,  and  said  something  about  my  mother  not 
being  aware  of  my  being  out ;  which  enraged  me  not  a  little, 
that  a  man  whom  I  had  heard  swear  so  terribly,  should  dare 
to  take  such  a  holy  name  into  his  mouth.  It  seemed  a  sort 
of  blasphemy,  and  it  seemed  like  dragging  out  the  best  and 
most  cherished  secrets  of  my  soul,  for  at  that  time  the  name 
of  mother  was  the  center  of  all  my  heart's  finest  feelings,  which 
ere  that,  I  had  learned  to  keep  secret,  deep  down  in  my  being. 

But  I  did  not  outwardly  resent  the  sailor's  words,  for 
that  would  "have  only  made  the  matter  worse. 

Now  this  man  was  a  Greenlander  by  birth,  with  a  very 
white  skin  where  the  sun  had  not  burnt  it,  and  handsome 
blue  eyes  placed  wide  apart  in  his  head,  and  a  broad  good- 
humored  face,  and  plenty  of  curly  flaxen  hair.  He  was 
not  very  tall,  but  exceedingly  stout-built,  though  active ; 
and  his  back  was  as  broad  as  a  shield,  and  it  was  a  great 
way  between  his  shoulders.  He  seemed  to  be  a  sort  of 
lady's  sailor,  for  in  his  broken  English  he  was  always  talk 
ing  about  the  nice  ladies  of  his  acquaintance  in  Stockholm 
and  Copenhagen  and  a  place  he  called  the  Hook,  which  at 
first  I  fancied  must  be  the  place  where  lived  the  hook-nosed 
men  that  caught  fowling-pieces  and  every  other  article  that 
came  along.  He  was  dressed  very  tastefully,  too,  as  if  he 
knew  he  was  a  good-looking  fellow.  He  had  on  a  new  blue 
woolen  Havre  frock,  with  a  new  silk  handkerchief  round  his 
neck,  passed  through  one  of  the  vertebral  bones  of  a  shark, 
highly  polished  and  carved.  His  trowsers  were  of  clear 
white  duck,  and  he  sported  a  handsome  pair  of  pumps,  and 
a  tarpaulin  hat  bright  "as  a  looking-glass,  with  a  long  black 
ribbon  streaming  behind,  and  getting  entangled  every  now 
and  then  in  the  rigging  ;  and  he  had  gold  anchors  in  his 


HI8    FIRST    VOYAGE.  59 

ears,  and  a  silver  ring  on  one  of  his  fingers,  which  was 
very  much  worn  and  bent  from  pulling  ropes  and  other 
work  on  board  ship.  I  thought  he  might  better  have  left 
his  jewelry  at  home. 

It  was  a  long  time  before  I  could  believe  that  this  man 
was  really  from  Greenland,  though  he  looked  strange  enough 
to  me,  then,  to  have  come  from  the  moon ;  and  he  was  full 
of  stories  about  that  distant  country ;  how  they  passed 
the  winters  there  ;  and  how  bitter  cold  it  was  ;  and  how 
he  used  to  go  to  bed  and  sleep  twelve  hours,  and  get 
up  again  and  run  about,  and  go  to  bed  again,  and  get  up 
again — there  was  no  telling  how  many  times,  and  all  in  one 
night ;  for  in  the  winter  time  in  his  country,  he  said,  the 
nights  were  so  many  weeks  long,  that  a  Greenland  baby 
was  sometimes  three  months  old,  before  it  could  properly  be 
said  to  be  a  day  old. 

I  had  seen  mention  made  of  such  things  before,  in  books 
of  voyages  ;  but  that  was  only  reading  about  them,  just  as 
you  read  the  Arabian  Nights,  which  no  one  ever  believes  ; 
for  somehow,  when  I  read  about  these  wonderful  countries,  I 
never  used  really  to  believe  what  I  read,  but  only  thought 
it  very  strange,  and  a  good  deal  too  strange  to  be  altogether 
true  ;  though  I  never  thought  the  men  who  wrote  the  book 
meant  to  tell  Ifes.  But  I  don't  know  exactly  how  to  ex 
plain  what  I  mean  ;  but  this  much  I  will  say,  that  I  never 
believed  in  Greenland  till  I  saw  this  Greenlander.  And  at 
first,  hearing  him  talk  about  Greenland,  only  made  me  still 
more  incredulous.  For  what  business  had  a  man  from 
Greenland  to  be  in  my  company  ?  Why  was  he  not  at 
home  among  the  icebergs ;  and  how  could  he  stand  a  warm 
summer's  sun,  and  not  be  melted  away  ?  Besides,  instead 
of  icicles,  there  were  ear-rings  hanging  from  his  ears ;  and 
he  did  not  wear  bear-skins,  and  keep  his  hands  in  a  huge 
muff;  things,  which  I  could  not  help  connecting  with  Green 
land  and  all  Greenlanders. 

But  I  was  telling  about  my  being  sea-sick  and  wanting 


60  B  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


to  retire  for  the  night.  This  Greenlander  seeing  I  was  ill, 
volunteered  to  turn  doctor  and  cure  me ;  so  going  down  into 
the  forecastle,  he  came  back  with  a  brown  jug,  like  a  molas 
ses  jug,  and  a  little  tin  cannikin,  and  as  soon  as  the  brown 
jug  got  near  my  nose,  I  needed  no  telling  what  was  in  it, 
for  it  smelt  like  a  still-house,  and  sure  enough  proved  to  be 
full  of  Jamaica  spirits.. 

"  Now,  Buttons,"  said  he,  "  one  little  dose  of  this  will  be 
better  for  you  than  a  whole  night's  sleep  ;  there,  take  that 
now,  and  then  eat  seven  or  eight  biscuits,  and  you'll  feel  as 
strong  as  the  mainmast."  , 

But  I  felt  very  little  like  doing  as  I  was  bid,  for  I  had 
some  scruples  about  drinking  spirits ;  and  to  tell  the  plain 
truth,  for  I  am  not  ashamed  of  it,  I  was  a  member  of  a 
society  in  the  village  where  my  mother  lived,  called  the 
Juvenile  Total  Abstinence  Association,  of  which  my  friend, 
Tom  Legare,  was  president,  secretary,  and  treasurer,  and 
kept  the  funds  in  a  little  purse  that  his  cousin  knit  for  him. 
There  was  three  and  sixpence  on  hand,  I  believe,  the  last 
time  he  brought  in  his  accounts,  on  a  May  day,  when  we 
had  a  meeting  in  a  grove  on  the  river-bank.  Tom  was  a 
very  honest  treasurer,  and  never  spent  the  Society's  money 
for  peanuts ;  and  besides  all,  was  a  fine,  generous  boy,  whom 
I  much  loved.  But  I  must  not  talk  about  Tom  now. 

When  the  Greenlander  came  to  me  with  his  jug  of  medi 
cine,  I  thanked  him  as  well  as  I  could ;  for  just  then  I  was 
leaning  with  my  mouth  over  the  side,  feeling  ready  to  die  ; 
but  I  managed  to  tell  him  I  was  under  a  solemn  obligation 
never  to  drink  spirits  upon  any  consideration  whatever ; 
though,  as  I  had  a  sort  of  presentiment  that  the  spirits 
would  now,  for  once  in  my  life,  do  me  good,  I  began  to  feel 
sorry,  that  when  I  signed  the  pledge  of  abstinence,  I  had 
not  taken  care  to  insert  a  little  clause,  allowing  me  to  drink 
spirits  in  case  of  sea-sickness.  And  I  would  advise  temper 
ance  people  to  attend  to  this  matter  in  future  ;  and  then  if 
they  come  to  go  to  sea,  there  will  be  no  need  of  breaking 


HIS   FIRST    VOYAGE.  61 

their  pledges,  which  I  am  truly  sorry  to  say  was  the  case 
with  me.  And  a  hard  thing  it  was,  too,  thus  to  break  a 
vow  before  unbroken ;  especially  as  the  Jamaica  tasted  any 
thing  but  agreeable,  and  indeed  burnt  my  mouth  so,  that  I 
did  not  relish  my  meals  for  some  time  after.  Even  when  1 
had  become  quite  well  and  strong  again,  I  wondered  how 
the  sailors  could  really  like  such  stuff';  but  many  of  them 
had  a  jug  of  it,  besides  the  Greenlander,  which  they  brought 
along  to  sea  with  them,  to  taper  off  ivith,  as  they  called  it. 
But  this  tapering  off  did  not  last  very  long,  for  the  Jamaica 
was  all  gone  on  the  second  day,  and  the  jugs  were  tossed 
overboard.  I  wonder  where  they  are  now  ? 

But  to  tell  the  truth,  I  found,  in  spite  of  its  sharp  taste, 
the  spirits  I  drank  was  just  the  thing  I  needed  ;  but  I.  sup 
pose,  if  I  could  have  had  a  cup  of  nice  hot  coffee,  it  would 
have  done  quite  as  well,  and  perhaps  much  better.  But 
that  was  not  to  be  had  at  that  time  of  night,  or,  indeed,  at 
any  other  time  ;  for  the  thing  they  called  coffee,  which  was 
given  to  us  every  morning  at  breakfast,  was  the  most  curious 
tasting  drink  I  ever  drank,  and  tasted  as  little  like  coffee,  as 
it  did  like  lemonade  ;  though,  to  be  sure,  it  was  generally  as 
cold  as  lemonade,  and  I  used  to  think  the  cook  had  an  ice 
house,  and  dropt  ice  into  his  coffee.  But  what  was  more 
curious  still,  was  the  different  quality  and  taste  of  it  on  dif 
ferent  mornings.  Sometimes  it  tasted  fishy,  as  if  it  was  a 
decoction  of  Dutch  herrings  ;  and  then  it  would  taste  very 
salt,  as  if  some  old  Jwrse,  or  sea-beef,  had  been  boiled  in  it ; 
and  then  again  it  would  taste  a  sort  of  cheesy,  as  if  the 
captain  had  sent  his  cheese-parings  forward  to  make  our 
coffee  of;  and  yet  another  time  it  would  have  such  a  very 
bad  flavor,  that  I  was  almost  ready  to  think  some  old  stock 
ing-heels  had  been  boiled  in  it.  What  under  heaven  it  was 
made  of,  that  it  had  so  many  different  bad  flavors,  always 
remained  a  mystery  ;  for  when  at  work  at  his  vocation,  our 
old  cook  used  to  keep  himself  close  shut  up  in  his  caboose,  a 
little  cook-house,  and  never  told  any  of  his  secrets. 


62  RED  BURN: 


Though  a  very  serious  character,  as  I  shall  hereafter 
show,  he  was  for  all  that,  and  perhaps  for  that  identical 
reason,  a  very  suspicious  looking  sort  of  a  cook,  that  I  don't 
believe  would  ever  succeed  in  getting  the  cooking  at  Del- 
monico's  in  New  York.  It  was  well  for  him  that  he  was  a 
black  cook,  for  I  have  no  doubt  his  color  kept  us  from  see 
ing  his  dirty  face  ;  I  never  saw  him  wash  but  once,  and  that 
was  at  one  of  his  own  soup  pots  one  dark  night  when  he 
thought  no  one  saw  him.  What  induced  him  to  be  wash 
ing  his  face  then,  I  never  could  find  out ;  but  I  suppose  he 
must  have  suddenly  waked  up,  after  dreaming  about  some 
real  estate  on  his  cheeks.  As  for  his  coffee,  notwithstanding 
the  disagreeableriess  of  its  flavor,  I  always  used  to  have  a 
strange  curiosity  every  morning,  to  see  what  new  taste  it 
was  going  to  have  ;  and  though,  sure  enough,  I  never  missed 
making  a  new  discovery,  and  adding  another  taste  to  my 
palate,  I  never  found  that  there  was  any  change  in  the  bad 
ness  of  the  beverage,  which  always  seemed  the  same  in  that 
respect  as  before. 

It  may  well  be  believed,  then,  that  now  when  I  was  sea 
sick,  a  cup  of  such  coffee  as  our  old  cook  made  would  have 
done  me  no  good,  if  indeed  it  would  not  have  come  near 
making  an  end  of  me.  And  bad  as  it  was,  and  since  it 
was  not  to  be  had  at  that  time  of  night,  as  I  said  before, 
I  think  I  was  excusable  in  taking  something  else  in  place  of 
it,  as  I  did ;  and  under  the  circumstances,  it  would  be.  un 
handsome  of  them,  if  my  fellow-members  of  the  Temperance 
Society  should  reproach  me  for  breaking  my  bond,  which  I 
would  not  have  done  except  in  case  of  necessity.  But  the 
evil  effect  of  breaking  one's  bond  upon  any  occasion  what 
ever,  was  witnessed  in  the  present  case ;  for  it  insidiously 
opened  the  way  to  subsequent  breaches  of  it,  which  though 
very  slight,  yet  carried  no  apology  with  them. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE     SAILORS     BECOMING    A     LITTLE     SOCIAL,     REDBURN     CON 
VERSES  WITH   THEM. 

THE  latter  part  of  this  first  long  watch  that  we  stood  was 
very  pleasant,  so  far  as  the  weather  was  concerned.  From 
being  rather  cloudy,  it  became  a  soft  moonlight ;  and  the  stars 
peeped  out,  plain  enough  to  count  one  by  one ;  and  there 
was  a  fine  steady  breeze  ;  and  it  was  not  very  cold  ;  and 
we  were  going  through  the  water  almost  as  smooth  as  a  sled 
sliding  down  hill.  And  what  was  still  better,  the  wind 
held  so  steady,  that  there  was  little  running  aloft,  little  pull 
ing  ropes,  and  scarcely  any  thing  disagreeable  of  that  kind. 

The  chief  mate  kept  walking  up  and  down  the  quarter 
deck,  with  a  lighted  long-nine  cigar  in  his  mouth  by  way  of 
a  torch ;  and  spoke  but  few  words  to  us  the  whole  watch. 
He  must  have  had  a  good  deal  of  thinking  to  attend  to, 
which  in  truth  is  the  case  with  most  seamen  the  first  night 
out  of  port,  especially  when  they  have  thrown  away  their 
money  in  foolish  dissipation,  and  got  very  sick  into  the  bar 
gain.  For  when  ashore,  many  of  these  sea-officers  are  as 
wild  and  reckless  in  their  way,  as  the  sailors  they  command. 

While  I  stood  watching  the  red  cigar-end  promenading 
up  and  down,  the  mate  suddenly  stopped  and  gave  an  order, 
and  the  men  sprang  to  obey  it.  It  was  not  much,  only 
something  about  hoisting  one  of  the  sails  a  little  higher  up 
on  the  mast.  The  men  took  hold  of  the  rope,  and  began 
pulling  upon  it;  the  foremost  man  of  all  setting  up  a  song 
with  no  words  to  it,  only  a  strange  musical  rise  and  fall  of 
notes.  In  the  dark  night,  and  far  out  upon  the  lonely  sea, 
it  sounded  wild  enough,  and  made  me  feel  as  I  had  some- 


64  REDBURN: 


times  felt,  when  in  a  twilight  room  a  cousin  of  mine,  with 
black  eyes,  used  to  play  some  old  German  airs  on  the  piano. 
I  almost  looked  round  for  goblins,  and  felt  just  a  little  bit 
afraid.  But  I  soon  got  used  to  this  singing  ;  for  the  sailors 
never  touched  a  rope  without  it.  Sometimes,  when  no  one 
happened  to  strike  up,  and  the  pulling,  whatever  it  might 
be,  did  not  seem  to  be  getting  forward  very  well,  the  mate 
would  always  say,  "  Come,  men,  can't  any  of  you  sing  ? 
Sing  now,  and  raise  the  dead"  And  then  some  one  of 
them  would  begin,  and  if  every  man's  arms  were  as  much 
relieved  as  mine  by  the  song,  and  he  could  pull  as  much 
better  as  I  did,  with  such  a  cheering  accompaniment,  I  am 
sure  the  song  was  well  worth  the  breath  expended  on  it.  It 
is  a  great  thing  in  a  sailor  to  know  how  to  sing  well,  for  he 
gets  a  great  name  by  it  from  the  officers,  and  a  good  deal  of 
popularity  among  his  shipmates.  Some  sea-captains,  before 
shipping  a  man,  always  ask  him  whether  he  can  sing  out  at 
a  rope. 

During  the  greater  part  of  the  watch,  the  sailors  sat  on 
the  windlass  and  told  long  stories  of  their  adventures  by  sea 
and  land,  and  talked  about  Gibralter,  and  Canton,  and 
Valparaiso,  and  Bombay,  just  as  you  and  I  would  about 
Peck  Slip  and  the  Bowery.  Every  man  of  them  almost 
was  a  volume  of  Voyages  and  Travels  round  the  World. 
And  what  most  struck  me  was  that  like  books  of  voyages 
they  often  contradicted  each  other,  and  would  fall  into  long 
and  violent  disputes  about  who  was  keeping  the  Foul  Anchor 
tavern  in  Portsmouth  at  such  a  time  ;  or  whether  the  King 
of  Canton  lived  or  did  not  live  in  Persia ;  or  whether  the 
bar-maid  of  a  particular  house  in  Hamburg  had  black  eyes 
or  blue  eyes  ;  with  many  other  mooted  points  of  that  sort. 

At  last  one  of  them  went  below  and  brought  up  a  box  of 
cigars  from  his  chest,  for  some  sailors  always  provide  little 
delicacies  of  that  kind,  to  break  off  the  first  shock  of  the  salt 
water  after  laying  idle  ashore  ;  and  also  by  way  of  tapering 
off,  as  I  mentioned  a  little  while  ago.  But  I  wondered  that 


HIS  FIRST   VOYAGE.  65 

they  never  carried  any  pies  and  tarts  to  sea  with  them, 
instead  of  spirits  and  cigars. 

Ned,  for  that  was  the  man's  name,  split  open  the  box 
with  a  blow  of  his  fist,  and  then  handed  it  round  along  the 
windlass,  just  like  a  waiter  at  a  party,  every  one  helping 
himself.  But  I  was  a  member  of  an  Anti-Smoking  Society 
that  had  been  organized  in  our  village  by  the  Principal  of 
the  Sunday  School  there,  in  conjunction  with  the  Temper 
ance  Association.  So  I  did  not  smoke  any  then,  though  I 
did  afterward  upon  the  voyage,  I  am  sorry  to  say.  Not 
withstanding  I  declined ;  with  a  good  deal  of  unnecessary 
swearing,  Ned  assured  me  that  the  cigars  were  real  genuine 
Havannas  ;  for  he  had  been  in  Havanna,  he  said,  and  had 
them  made  there  under  his  own  eye.  According  to  his 
account,  he  was  very  particular  about  his  cigars  and  other 
things,  and  never  made  any  importations,  for  they  were 
unsafe ;  but  always  made  a  voyage  himself  direct  to  the 
place  where  any  foreign  thing  was  to  be  had  that  he  wanted. 
He  went  to  Havre  for  his  woolen  shirts,  to  Panama  for  his 
hats,  to  China  for  his  silk  handkerchiefs,  and  direct  to  Cal 
cutta  for  his  cheroots ;  and  as  a  great  joker  in  the  watch 
used  to  say.  no  doubt  he  would  at  last  have  occasion  to  go 
to  Russia  for  his  halter  ;  the  wit  of  which  saying  was  pre 
sumed  to  be  in  the  fact,  that  the  Prussian  hemp  is  the  best ; 
though  that  is  not  wit  which  needs  explaining. 

By  dint  of  the  spirits  which,  besides  stimulating  my  faint 
ing  strength,  united  with  the  cool  air  of  the  sea  to  give  me 
an  appetite  for  our  hard  biscuit ;  and  also  by  dint  of  walking 
briskly  up  and  down  the  deck  before  the  windlass,  I  had 
now  recovered  in  good  part  from  my  sickness,  and  finding 
the  sailors  all  very  pleasant  and  sociable,  at  least  among 
themselves,  and  seated  smoking  together  like  old  cronies,  and 
nothing  on  earth  to  do  but  sit  the  watch  out,  I  began  to 
think  that  they  were  a  pretty  good  set  of  fellows  after  all, 
barrijjg  their  swearing  and  another  ugly  way  of  talking  they 
had ;  and  I  thought  I  had  misconceived  their  true  characters ; 


66  REDBURN: 


for  at  the  outset  I  had  deemed  them  such  a  parcel  of 
wicked  hard-hearted  rascals  that  it  would  be  a  severe  afflic 
tion  to  associate  with  them. 

Yes,  I  now  began  to  look  on  them  with  a  sort  of  incipient 
love  ;  but  more  with  an  eye  of  pity  and  compassion,  as  men 
of  naturally  gentle  arid  kind  dispositions,  whom  only  hard 
ships,  and  neglect,  and  ill-usage  had  made  outcasts  from 
good  society  ;  and  not  as  villains  who  loved  wickedness  for 
the  sake  of  it,  and  would  persist  in  wickedness,  even  in 
Paradise,  if  they  ever  got  there.  And  I  called  to  mind  a 
sermon  I  had  once  heard  in  a  church  in  behalf  of  sailors, 
when  the  preacher  called  them  strayed  lambs  from  the  fold, 
and  compared  them  to  poor,  lost  children,  babes  in  the  wood, 
orphans  without  fathers  or  mothers. 

And  I  remembered  reading  in  a  magazine,  called  the 
Sailors'  Magazine,  with  a  sea-blue  cover,  and  a  ship  painted 
on  the  back,  about  pious  seamen  who  never  swore,  and  paid 
over  all  their  wages  to  the  poor  heathen  in  India ;  and  how 
that  when  they  were  too  old  to  go  to  sea,  these  pious  old 
sailors  found  a  delightful  home  for  life  in  the  Hospital,  where 
they  had  nothing  to  do,  but  prepare  themselves  for  their 
latter  end.  And  I  wondered  whether  there  were  any  such 
good  sailors  among  my  ship-mates  ;  and  observing  that  one 
of  them  laid  on  deck  apart  from  the  rest,  I  thought  to  be 
sure  he  must  be  one  of  them  :  so  I  did  not  disturb  his  devo 
tions  :  but  I  was  afterward  shocked  at  discovering  that  he 
was  only  fast  asleep,  with  one  of  the  brown  jugs  by  his 
side. 

I  forgot  to  mention  by  the  way,  that  every  once  in  a 
while,  the  men  went  into  one  corner,  where  the  chief  mate 
could  not  see  them,  to  take  a  "  swig  at  the  halyards,"  as 
they  called  it ;  and  this  swigging  at  the  halyards  it  was,  that 
enabled  them  "  to  taper  off"  handsomely,  and  no  doubt  it 
was  this,  too,  that  had  something  to  do  with  making  them 
so  pleasant  and  sociable  that  night,  for  they  were  seldom  so 
pleasant  and  sociable  afterward,  and  never  treated  me  so 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  67 

kindly  as  they  did  then.  Yet  this  might  have  been  owing 
to  ray  being  something  of  a  stranger  to  them,  then  ;  and  our 
being  just  out  of  port.  But  that  very  night  they  turned 
about,  and  taught  me  a  bitter  lesson ;  but  all  in  good  time. 

I  have  said,  that  seeing  how  agreeable  they  were  getting, 
and  how  friendly  their  manner  was,  I  began  to  feel  a  sort 
of  compassion  for  them,  grounded  on  their  sad  conditions  as 
amiable  outcasts  ;  and  feeling  so  warm  an  interest  in  them, 
and  being  full  of  pity,  and  being  truly  desirous  of  benefiting 
them  to  the  best  of  my  poor  powers,  for  I  knew  they  were 
but  poor  indeed,  I  made  bold  to  ask  one  of  them,  whether 
he  was  ever  in  the  habit,  of  going  to  church,  when  he  was 
ashore,  or  dropping  in  at  the  Floating  Chapel  I  had  seen 
lying  off  the  dock  in  the  East  River  at  New  York ;  and 
whether  he  would  think  it  too  much  of  a  liberty,  if  I  asked 
him,  if  he  had  any  good  books  in  his  chest.  He  stared  a 
little  at  first,  but  marking  what  good  language  I  used,  see 
ing  my  civil  bearing  toward  him,  he  seemed  for  a  moment 
to  be  filled  with  a  certain  involuntary  respect  for  me,  and 
answered,  that  he  -had  been  to  church  once,  some  ten  or 
twelve  years  before,  in  London,  and  on  a  week-day  had 
helped  'to  move  the  Floating  Chapel  round  the  Battery, 
from  the  North  River ;  and  that  was  the  only  time  he  had 
seen  it.  For  his  books,  he  said  he  did  not  know  what  I 
meant  by  good  books  ;  but  if  I  wanted  the  Newgate  Calen 
dar,  and  Pirate's  Own,  he  could  lend  them  to  me. 

When  I  heard  this  poor  sailor  talk  in  this  manner,  show 
ing  so  plainly  his  ignorance  and  absence  of  proper  views  of 
religion,  I  pitied  him  more  and  more,  and  contrasting  my 
own  situation  with  his,  I  was  grateful  that  I  was  different 
from  him  ;  and  I  thought  how  pleasant  it  was,  to  feel  wiser 
and  better  than  he  could  feel ;  though  I  was  willing  to  con 
fess  to  myself,  that  it  was  not  altogether  my  own  good  en 
deavors,  so  much  as  my  education,  which  I  had  received 
from  others,  that  had  made  me  the  upright  and  sensible  boy 
I  at  that  time  thought  myself  to  be.  And  it  was  now, 


68  REDBURN: 


that  I  began  to  feel  a  good  degree  of  complacency  and  satis 
faction  in  surveying  my  own  character ;  for,  before  this,  I 
had  previously  associated  with  persons  of  a  very  discreet 
life,  so  that  there  was  little  opportunity  to  magnify  myself, 
by  comparing  myself  with  my  neighbors. 

Thinking  that  my  superiority  to  him  in  a  moral  way 
might  sit  uneasily  upon  this  sailor,  I  thought  it  would  soften 
the  matter  down  by  giving  him  a  chance  to  show  his  own 
superiority  to  me,  in  a  minor  thing ;  for  I  was  far  from 
being  vain  and  conceited. 

Having  observed  that  at  certain  intervals  a  little  bell  was 
rung  on  the  quarter-deck  by  the  man  at  the  wheel ;  and 
that  as  soon  as  it  was  heard,  some  one  of  the  sailors  forward 
struck  a  large  bell  which  hung  on  the  forecastle  ;  and  hav 
ing  observed  that  how  many  times  soever  the  man  astern 
rang  his  bell,  the  man  forward  struck  his — tit  for  tat, — I 
inquired  of  this  Floating  Chapel  sailor,  what  all  this  ring 
ing  meant ;  and  whether,  as  the  big  bell  hung  right  over 
the  scuttle  that  went  down  to  the  place  where  the  watch 
below  were  sleeping,  such  a  ringing  every  little  while  would 
not  tend  to  disturb  them  and  beget  unpleasant  dreams  ;  and 
in  asking  these  questions  I  was  particular  to  address  him  in 
a  civil  and  condescending  way,  so  as  to  show  him  very 
plainly  that  I  did  not  deem  myself  one  whit  better  than  he 
was,  that  is,  taking  all  things  together,  and  not  going  into 
particulars.  But  to  my  great  surprise  and  mortification,  he 
in  the  rudest  kind  of  manner  laughed  aloud  in  my  face,  and 
called  me  a  "  Jimmy  Dux,"  though  that  was  not  my  real 
name,  and  he  must  have  known  it ;  and  also  the  "  son  of  a 
farmer,"  though  as  I  have  previously  related,  my  father  was  a 
great  merchant  and  French  importer  in  Broad-street  in  New 
York.  And  then  he  began  to  laugh  and  joke  about  me,  with 
the  other  sailors,  till  they  all  got  round  me,  and  if  I  had  not 
felt  so  terribly  angry,  I  should  certainly  have  felt  very  much 
like  a  fool.  But  my  being  so  angry  prevented  me  from 
feeiing  foolish,  which  is  very  lucky  for  people  in  a  passion. 


CHAPTER  X. 

HE  IS  VERY  MUCH  FRIGHTENED  J    THE  SAILORS  ABUSE  HIM  J   AND 
HE  BECOMES  MISERABLE  AND  FORLORN. 

WHILE  the  scene  last  described  was  going  on,  we  were 
all  startled  by  a  horrid  groaning  noise  down  in  the  forecastle ; 
and  all  at  once  some  one  came  rushing  up  the  scuttle  in  his 
shirt,  clutching  something  in  his  hand,  and  trembling  and 
shrieking  in  the  most  frightful  manner,  so  that  I  thought 
one  of  the  sailors  must  be  murdered  below. 

But  it  all  passed  in  a  moment ;  and  while  we  stood 
aghast  at  the  sight,  and  almost  before  we  knew  what  it  was, 
the  shrieking  man  jumped  over  the  bows  into  the  sea,  and 
we  saw  him  no  more.  Then  there  was  a  great  uproar ;  the 
sailors  came  running  up  on  deck  ;  and  the  chief  mate  ran. 
forward,  and  learning  what  had  happened,  began  to  yell 
out  his  orders  about  the  sails  and  yards ;  and  we  all  went  to 
pulling  and  hauling  the  ropes,  till  at  last  the  ship  lay  almost 
still  on  the  water.  Then  they  loosed  a  boat,  which  kept 
pulling  round  the  ship  for  more  than  an  hour,  but  they  never 
caught  sight  of  the  man.  It  seemed  that  he  was  one  of  the 
sailors  who  had  been  brought  aboard  dead  drunk,  and  tum 
bled  into  his  bunk  by  his  landlord  ;  and  there  he  had  lain 
till  now.  He  must  have  suddenly  waked  up,  I  suppose, 
raging  mad  with  the  delirium  tremens,  as  the  chief  mate 
called  it,  and  finding  himself  in  a  strange  sijent  place,  and 
knowing  not  how  he  had  got  there,  he  had  rushed  on  deck, 
and  so,  in  a  fit  of  frenzy,  put  an  end  to  himself. 

This  event,  happening  at  the  dead  of  night,  had  a  won 
derfully  solemn  and  almost  awful  effect  upon  me.  I  would 
have  given  the  whole  world,  and  the  sun  and  moon,  and  all 


70  B  E  D  B  U  B  N  : 


the  stars  in  heaven,  if  they  had  been  mine,  had  I  been  safe 
back  at  Mr.  Jones',  or  still  better,  in  ray  home  on  the 
Hudson  River.  I  thought  it  an  ill-omened  voyage,  and 
railed  at  the  folly  which  had  sent  me  to  sea,  sore  against 
the  advice  of  my  best  friends,  that  is  to  say,  my  mother  and 
sisters. 

Alas  !  poor  Wellingborough,  thought  I,  you  will  never 
see  your  home  any  more.  And  in  this  melancholy  mood  I 
went  below,  when  the  watch  had  expired,  which  happened 
soon  after.  But  to  my  terror,  I  found  that  the  suicide  had 
been  occupying  the  very  bunk  which  I  had  appropriated  to 
myself,  and  there  was  no  other  place  for  me  to  sleep  in. 
The  thought  of  lying  down  there  now,  seemed  too  horrible 
to  me,  and  what  made  it  worse,  was  the  way  in  which  the 
sailors  spoke  of  my  being  frightened.  And  they  took  this 
opportunity  to  tell  me  what  a  hard  and  wicked  life  I  had 
entered  upon,  and  how  that  such  things  happened  frequently 
at  sea.  and  they  were  used  to  it.  But  I  did  not  believe  this ; 
for  when  the  suicide  came  rushing  and  shrieking  up  the  scut-^ 
tie,  they  looked  as  frightened  as  I  did  ;  and  besides  that, 
and  what  makes  their  being  frightened  still  plainer,  is  the 
fact,  that  if  they  had  had  any  presence  of  mind,  they  could 
have  prevented  his  plunging  overboard,  since  he  brushed 
right  by  them.  However,  they  lay  in  their  bunks  smoking, 
and  kept  talking  on  some  time  in  this  strain,  and  advising 
me  as  soon  as  ever  I  got  home  to  pin  my  ears  back,  so  as 
not  to  hold  the  wind,  and  sail  straight  away  into  the  inte 
rior  of  the  country,  and  never  stop  until  deep  in  the  bush, 
far  off  from  the  least  running  brook,  never  mind  how  shal 
low,  and  out  of  sight  of  even  the  smallest  puddle  of  rain 
water. 

This  kind  of  talking  brought  the  tears  into  my  eyes,  for  it 
was  so  true  and  real,  and  the  sailors  who  spoke  it  seemed  so 
false-hearted  and  insincere ;  but  for  all  that,  in  spite  of  the 
sickness  at  my  heart,  it  made  me  mad,  and  stung  me  to  the 
quick,  that  they  should  speak  of  me  as  a  poor  trembling 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  71 

coward,  who  could  never  be  brought  to  endure  the  hardships 
of  a  sailor's  life  ;  for  I  felt  myself  trembling,  and  knew  that 
I  was  but  a  coward  then,  well  enough,  without  their  telling 
me  of  it.  And  they  did  not  say  I  was  cowardly,  because 
they  perceived  it  in  me,  but  because  they  merely  supposed  I 
"must  be,  judging,  no  doubt,  from  their  own  secret  thoughts 
about  themselves  ;  for  I  felt  sure  that  the  suicide  frightened 
them  very  badly.  And  at  last,  being  provoked  to  despera 
tion  by  their  taunts,  I  told  them  so  to  their  faces ;  but  I 
might  better  have  kept  silent ;  for  they  now  all  united  to 
abuse  me.  They  asked  me  what  business  I,  a  boy  like  me, 
had  to  go  to  sea,  and  take  the  bread  out  of  the  mouth  of 
honest  sailors,  and  fill  a  good  seaman's  place ;  and  asked 
me  whether  I  ever  dreamed  of  becoming  a  captain,  since  I 
was  a  gentleman  with  white  hands ;  and  if  I  ever  should 
be,  they  would  like  nothing  better  than  to  ship  aboard  my 
vessel  and  stir  up  a  mutiny.  And  one  of  them,  whose 
name  was  Jackson,  of  whom  I  shall  have  a  good  deal  more 
to  gay  by-and-by,  said,  I  had  better  steer  clear  of  him  ever 
after,  for  if  ever  I  crossed  his  path,  or  got  into  his  way,  he 
would  be  the  death  of  me,  and  if  ever  I  stumbled  about  in 
the  rigging  near  him,  he  would  make  nothing  of  pitching 
me  overboard  ;  and  that  he  swore  too,  with  an  oath.  At 
first,  all  this  nearly  stunned  me,  it  was  so  unforeseen ;  and 
then  I  could  not  believe  that  they  meant  what  they  said,  or 
that  they  could  be  so  cruel  and  black-hearted.  But  how 
could  I  help  seeing,  that  the  men  who  could  thus  talk  to  a 
poor,  friendless  boy,  on  the  very  first  night  of  his  voyage  to 
sea,  must  be  capable  of  almost  any  enormity.  I  loathed, 
detested,  and  hated  them  with  all  that  was  left  of  my  burst 
ing  heart  and  soul,  and  I  thought  myself  the  most  forlorn 
and  miserable  wretch  that  ever  breathed.  May  I  never  be 
a  man,  thought  I,  if  to  be  a  boy  is  to  be  such  a  wretch. 
And  I  wailed  and  wept,  and  my  heart  cracked  within  me, 
but  all  the  time  I  defied  them  through  my  teeth,  and  dared 
them  to  do  their  worst. 


72  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


At  last  they  ceased  talking  and  fell  fast  asleep,  leaving 
me  awake,  seated  on.  a  chest  with  my  face  be.nt  over  my 
knees  between  my  hands.  And  there  I  sat,  till  at  length 
the  dull  beating  against  the  ship's  bows,  and  the  silence 
around,  soothed  me  down,  and  I  fell  asleep  as  I  sat. 


CHAPTER  XL 

HE  HELPS  WASH  THE  DECKS,  AND  THEN  GOES  TO  BREAKFAST. 

THE  next  thing  I  knew,  was  the  loud  thumping  of  a 
handspike  on  deck  as  the  watch  was  called  again.  It  was 
now  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  when  we  got  on  deck 
the  first  signs  of  day  were  shining  in  the  east.  The  men 
were  very  sleepy,  and  sat  down  on  the  windlass  without 
speaking,  and  some  of  them  nodded  and  nodded,  till  at  last 
they  fell  off  like  little  boys  in  church  during  a  drowsy  sermon. 
At  last  it  was  broad  day,  and  an  order  was  given  to  wash 
down  the  decks.  A  great  tub  was  dragged  into  the  waist, 
and  then  one  of  the  men  went  over  into  the  chains,  and 
slipped  in  behind  a  band  fastened  to  the  shrouds,  and  leaning 
over,  began  to  swing  a  bucket  into  the  sea  by  a  long  rope  ; 
and  in  that  way  with  much  expertness  and  sleight  of  hand, 
he  managed  to  fill  the  tub  in  a  very  short  time.  Then  the 
water  began  to  splash  about  all  over  the  decks,  and  I  began 
to  think  I  should  surely  get  my  feet  wet,  and  catch  my  death 
of  cold.  So  I  went  to  the  chief  mate,  and  told  him  I  thought 
I  would  just  step  below,  till  this  miserable  wetting  was  over; 
for  I  did  not  have  any  water-proof  boots,  and  an  aunt  of 
mine  had  died  of  consumption.  But  he  only  roared  out  for 
me  to  get  a  broom  and  go  to  scrubbing,  or  he  would  prove  a 
worse  consumption  to  me  than -ever  got  hold  of  my  poor 
aunt.  So  I  scrubbed  away  fore  and  aft,  till  my  back  was 
almost  broke,  for  the  brooms  had  uncommon  short  handles, 
and  we  were  told  to  scrub  hard. 

At  length  the  scrubbing  being  over,  the  mate  began  heav 
ing  buckets  of  water  about,  to  wash  every  thing  clean,  by 
way  of  finishing  off.  He  must  have  thought  this  fine  sport, 

D 


74  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


just  as  captains  of  fire  engines  love  to  point  the  tube  of  their 
hose  ;  for  he  kept  me  running  after  him  with  full  buckets  of 
water,  and  sometimes  chased  a  little  chip  all  over  the  deck, 
with  a  continued  flood,  till  at  last  he  sent  it  flying  out  of  a 
scupper-hole  into  the  sea  ;  when,  if  he  had  only  given  me 
permission,  I  could  have  picked  it  up  in  a  trice,  and  dropped 
it  overboard  without  saying  one  word,  and  without  wasting 
so  much  water.  But  he  said  there  was  plenty  of  water  in 
the  ocean,  and  to  spare  ;  which  was  true  enough,  but  then 
I  who  had  to  trot  after  him  with  the  buckets,  had  no  more 
legs  and  arms  than  I  wanted  for  my  own  use. 

I  thought  this  washing  down  the.  decks  was  the  most 
foolish  thing  in  the  world,  and  besides  that  it  was  the  most 
uncomfortable.  It  was  worse  than  my  mother's  house-clean 
ings  at  home,  which  I  used  to  abominate  so. 

At  eight  o'clock  the  bell  was  struck,  and  we  went  to  break 
fast.  And  now  some  of  the  worst  of  my  troubles  began. 
For  not  having  had  any  friend  to  tell  me  what  I  would  want 
at  sea,  I  had  not  provided  myself,  as  I  should  have  done, 
with  a  good  many  things  that  a  sailor  needs  ;  and  for  my  own 
part,  it  had  never  entered  my  mind,  that  sailors  had  no  table 
to  sit  down  to,  no  cloth,  or  napkins,  or  tumblers,  and  had  to 
provide  every  thing  themselves.  But  so  it  was. 

The  first  thing  they  did  was  this.  Every  sailor  went  to 
the  cook-house  with  his  tin  pot,  and  got  it  filled  with  coffee ; 
but  of  course,  having  no  pot,  there  was  no  coffee  for  me. 
And  after  that,  a  sort  of  little  tub  called  a  "  kid,"  was 
passed  down  into  the  forecastle,  filled  with  something  they 
called  "  burgoo."  This  was  like  mush,  made  of  Indian  corn, 
meal,  and  water.  With  the  "  kid,"  a  little  tin  cannikin 
was  passed  down  with  molasses.  Then  the  Jackson  that  I 
spoke  of  before,  put  the  kid  between  his  knees,  and  began  to 
pour  in  the  molasses,  just  like  an  old  landlord  mixing  punch 
for.  a  party.  He  scooped  out  a  little  hole  in  the  middle  of 
the  mush,  to  hold  the  molasses  ;  so  it  looked  for  all  the  world 
like  a  little  black  pool  in  the  Dismal  Swamp  of  Virginia. 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  75 

Then  they  all  formed  a  circle  round  the  kid  ;  and  one 
after  the  other,  with  great  regularity,  dipped  their  spoons 
into  the  mush,  and  after  stirring  them  round  a  little  in  the 
molasses-pool,  they  swallowed  down  their  mouthfuls,  and 
smacked  their  lips  over  it,  as  if  it  tasted  very  good  ;  which 
I  have  no  doubt  it  did ;  but  not  having  any  spoon,  I  wasn't 
sure. 

I  sat  some  time  watching  these  proceedings,  and  wonder 
ing  how  polite  they  were  to  each  other  ;  for,  though  there 
were  a  great  many  spoons  to  only  one  dish,  they  never  got 
entangled.  At  last,  seeing  that  the  mush  was  getting  thin 
ner  and  thinner,  and  that  it  was  getting  low  water,  or  rather 
low  molasses  in  the  little  pool,  I  ran  on  deck,  and  after 
searching  about,  returned  with  a  bit  of  stick  ;  and  thinking 
I  had  as  good  a  right  as  any  one  else  to  the  mush  and  mo 
lasses,  I  worked  my  way  into  the  circle,  intending  to  make 
one  of  the  party.  So  I  shoved  in  my  stick,  and  after  twirl 
ing  it  about,  was  just  managing  to  carry  a  little  burgoo 
toward  my  mouth,  which  had  been  for  some  time  standing 
ready  open  to  receive  it,  when  one  of  the  sailors  perceiving 
what  I  was  about,  knocked  the  stick  out  of  my  hands,  and 
asked  me  where  I  learned  my  manners  ;  Was  that  the  way 
gentlemen  eat  in  my  country  ?  Did  they  eat  their  victuals 
with  splinters  of  wood,  and  couldn't  that  wealthy  gentleman 
my  father  afford  to  buy  his  gentlemanly  son  a  spoon  ? 

All  the  rest  joined  in,  and  pronounced  me  an  ill-bred, 
coarse,  and  unmannerly  youngster,  who,  if  permitted  to  go 
on  with  such  behavior  as  that,  would  corrupt  the  whole 
crew,  and  make  them  no  better  than  swine. 

As  I  felt  conscious  that  a  stick  was  indeed  a  thing  very 
unsuitable  to  eat  with,  I  did  not  say  much  to  this,  though  it 
vexed  me  enough ;  but  remembering  that  I  had  seen  one  of 
the  steerage  passengers  with  a  pan  and  spoon  in  his  hand 
eating  his  breakfast  on  the  fore  hatch,  I  now  ran  on  deck 
again,  and  to  my  great  joy  succeeded  in  borrowing  his  spoon, 
for  he  had  got  through  his  meal,  and  down  I  came  again, 


76  REDBURN: 


though  at  the  eleventh  hour,  and  offered  myself  once  more 
as  a  candidate. 

But  alas  !  there  was  little  more  of  the  Dismal  Swamp 
left,  and  when  I  reached  over  to  the  opposite  end  of  the  kid, 
I  received  a  rap  on  the  knuckles  from  a  spoon,  and  was  told 
that  I  must  help  myself  from  my  own  side,  for  that  was  the 
rule.  But  my  side  was  scraped  clean,  so  I  got  no  burgoo 
that  morning. 

But  I  made  it  up  by  eating  some  salt  beef  and  biscuit, 
which  I  found  to  be  the  invariable  accompaniment  of  every 
meal ;  the  sailors  sitting  cross-legged  on  their  chests  in  a 
circle,  and  breaking  the  hard  biscuit,  Tery  sociably,  over  each 
other's  heads,  which  was  very  convenient  indeed,  but  gave 
me  the  headache,  at  least  for  the  first  four  or  five  days  till 
I  got  used  to  it ;  and  then  I  did  not  care  much  about  it, 
only  it  kept  my  hair  full  of  crumbs  ;  and  I  had  forgot  to 
bring  a  fine  comb  and  brush,  so  I  used  to  shake  my  hair  out 
to  windward  over  the  bulwarks  every  evening. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

HE   GIVES    SOME  ACCOUNT    OP    ONE    OF    HIS    SHIPMATES    CALLED 
-  JACKSON. 

WHILE  we  sat  eating  our  beef  and  biscuit,  two  of  the 
men  got  into  a  dispute,  about  who  had  been  sea-faring  the 
longest ;  when  Jackson,  who  had  mixed  the  burgoo,  called 
upon  them  in  a  loud  voice  to  cease  their  clamor,  for  he  would 
decide  the  matter  for  them.  Of  this  sailor,  I  shall  have 
something  more  to  say,  as  I  get  on  with  my  narrative  ;  so, 
I  will  here  try  to  describe  him  a  little. 

Did  you  ever  see  a  man,  with  his  hair  shaved  off,  and 
just  recovered  from  the  yellow  fever  ?  Well,  just  such  a 
looking  man  was  this  sailor.  He  was  as  yellow  as  gamboge, 
had  no  more  whisker  on  his  cheek,  than  I  have  on  my  elbows. 
His  hair  had  fallen  out,  and  left  him  very  bald,  except  in 
the  nape  of  his  neck,  and  just  behind  the  ears,  where  it  was 
Btuck  over  with  short  little  tufts,  and  looked  like  a  worn-out 
shoe-brush.  His  nose  had  broken  down  in  the  middle,  and 
he  squinted  with  one  eye,  and  did  not  look  very  straight  out 
of  the  other.  He  dressed  a  good  deal  like  a  Bowery  boy  ; 
for  he  despised  the  ordinary  sailor-rig  ;  wearing  a  pair  of 
great  over-all  blue  trowsers,  fastened  with  suspenders,  and 
three  red  woolen  shirts,  one  over  the  other  ;  for  he  was  sub 
ject  to  the  rheumatism,  and  was  not  in  good  health,  he  said ; 
and  he  had  a  large  white  wool  hat,  with  a  broad  rolling 
brim.  He  was  a  native  of  New  York  city,  and  had  a  good 
deal  to  say  about  highbinders,  and  roivdies,  whom  he  de 
nounced  as  only  good  for  the  gallows ;  but  I  thought  he 
looked  a  good  deal  like  a  highbinder  himself. 

His  name,  as  I  have  said,  was  Jackson ;  and  he  told  us, 


78  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


he  was  a  near  relation  of  General  Jackson  of  New  Orleans, 
and  swore  terribly,  if  any  one  ventured  to  question  what  he 
asserted  on  that  head.  In  fact  he  was  a  great  bully,  and 
being  the  best  seaman  on  board,  and  very  overbearing  every 
way,  all  the  men  were  afraid  of  him,  and  durst  not  contra 
dict  him,  or  cross  his  path  in  any  thing.  And  what  made 
this  more  wonderful  was,  that  he  was  the  weakest  man, 
bodily,  of  the  whole  crew  ;  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  young 
and  small  as  I  was  then,  compared  to  what  I  am  now,  I 
could  have  thrown  him  down.  But  he  had  such  an  over 
awing  way  with  him  ;  such  a  deal  of  brass  and  impudence, 
such  an  unflinching  face,  and  withal  was  such  a  hideous 
looking  mortal,  that  Satan  himself  would  have  run  from 
him.  And  besides  all  this,  it  was  quite  plain,  that  he  was 
by  nature  a  marvelously  clever,  cunning  man,  though  with 
out  education  ;  and  understood  human  nature  to  a  kink,  and 
well  knew  whom  he  had  to  deal  with  ;  and  then,  one  glance 
of  his  squinting  eye,  was  as  good  as  a  knock-down,  for  it  was 
the  most  deep,  subtle,  infernal  looking  eye,  that  I  ever  saw 
lodged  in  a  human  head.  I  believe,  that  by  good  rights  it 
must  have  belonged  to  a  wolf,  or  starved  tiger  ;  at  any  rate, 
I  would  defy  any  oculist,  to  turn  out  a  glass  eye,  half  so  cold, 
and  snaky,  and  deadly.  It  was  a  horrible  thing ;  and  I 
would  give  much  to  forget  that  I  have  ever  seen  it ;  for  it 
haunts  me  to  this  day. 

It  was  impossible  to  tell  how  old  this  Jackson  was  ;  for 
he  had  no  beard,  and  no  wrinkles,  except  small  crows-feet 
about  the  eyes.  He  might  have  seen  thirty,  or  perhaps 
fifty  years.  But  according  to  his  own  account,  he  had  been 
to  Sea  ever  since  he  was  eight  years  old,  when  he  first  went 
as  a  cabin-boy  in  an  Indiamari,  and  ran  away  at  Calcutta. 
And  according  to  his  own  account,  too,  he  had  passed 
through  every  kind  of  dissipation  and  abandonment  in  the 
worst  parts  of  the  world.  He  had  served  in  Portuguese 
slavers  on  the  coast  of  Africa  ;  and  with  a  diabolical  relish 
used  to  tell  of  the  middle-passage,  where  the  slaves  were 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  79 

stowed,  heel  and  point,  like  logs,  and  the  suffocated  and 
dead  were  unmanacled,  and  weeded  out  from  the  living  every 
morning1,  before  washing  down  the  decks ;  how  he  had  been 
in  a  slaving  schooner,  which  being  chased  by  an  English 
cruiser  off  Cape  Verde,  received  three  shots  in  her  hull, 
which  raked  through  and  through  a  whole  file  of  slaves,  that 
were  chained. 

He  would  tell  of  lying  in  Batavia  during  a  fever,  when 
his  ship  lost  a  man  every  few  days,  and  how  they  went 
reeling  ashore  with  the  body,  and  got  still  more  intoxicated 
by  way  of  precaution  against  the  plague.  He  would  talk 
of  finding  a  cobra-di-capello,  or  hooded  snake,  under  his 
pillow  in  India,  when  he  slept  ashore  there.  He  would  talk 
of  sailors  being  poisoned  at  Canton  with  drugged  "  shampoo," 
for  the  sake  of  their  money  ;  and  of  the  Malay  ruffians,  who 
stopped  ships  in  the  straits  of  Gaspar,  and  always  saved  the 
captain  for  the  last,  so  as  to  make  him  point  out  where  the 
most  valuable  goods  were  stored. 

His  whole  talk  was  of  this  kind  ;  full  of  piracies,  plagues 
and  poisonings.  And  often  he  narrated  many  passages  in 
his  own  individual  career,  which  were  almost  incredible, 
from  the  consideration  that  few  men  could  have  plunged  into 
such  infamous  vices,  and  clung  to  them  so  long,  without 
paying  the  death-penalty. 

But  in  truth,  he  carried  about  with  him  the  traces  of 
these  things,  and  the  mark  of  a  fearful  end  nigh  at  hand  ; 
like  that  of  King  Antiochus  of  Syria,  who  died  a  worse  death, 
history  says,  than  if  he  had  been  stung  out  of  the  world  by 
wasps  and  hornets. 

Nothing  was  left  of  this  Jackson  but  the  foul  lees  and 
dregs  of  a  man ;  he  was  thin  as  a  shadow ;  nothing  but 
skin  and  bones ;  and  sometimes  used  to  complain,  that  it 
hurt  him  to  sit  on  the  hard  chests.  And  I  sometimes  fan 
cied,  it  was  the  consciousness  of  his  miserable,  broken-down 
condition,  and  the  prospect  of  soon  dying  like  a  dog,  in  con 
sequence  of  his  sins,  that  made  this  poor  wretch  always  eye 


80  REDBURN: 


me  with  such  malevolence  as  he  did.  For  I  was  young 
and  handsome,  at  least  my  mother  so  thought  me,  and  as 
soon  as  I  became  a  little  used  to  the  sea,  and  shook  off  my 
low  spirits  somewhat,  I  began  to  have  my  old  color  in  my 
cheeks,  and,  spite  of  misfortune,  to  appear  well  and  hearty ; 
whereas  he  was  being  consumed  by  an  incurable  malady, 
that  was  eating  up  his  vitals,  and  was  more  fit  for  a  hospital 
than  a  ship. 

As  I  am  sometimes  by  nature  inclined  to  indulge  in  un 
authorized  surmisings  about  the  thoughts  going  on  with  re 
gard  to  me,  in  the  people  I  meet ;  especially  if  I  have  reason 
to  think  they  dislike  me ;  I  will  not  put  it  down  for  a  cer 
tainty  that  what  I  suspected  concerning  this  Jackson  relative 
to  his  thoughts  of  me,  was  really  the  truth-.  But  only  state 
my  honest  opinion,  and  how  it  struck  me  at  the  time  ;  and 
even  now,  I  think  I  was  not  wrong.  And  indeed,  unless  it 
was  so,  how  could  I  account  to  myself,  for  the  shudder  that 
would  run  through  me,  when  I  caught  this  man  gazing  at 
me,  as  I  often  did  ;  for  he  was  apt  to  be  dumb  at  times, 
and  would  sit  with  his  eyes  fixed,  and  his  teeth  set,  like  a 
man  in  the  moody  madness. 

I  well  remember  the  first  time  I  saw  him,  and  how  I 
was  startled  at  his  eye,  which  was  even  then  fixed  upon  me. 
He  was  standing  at  the  ship's  helm,  being  the  first  man  that 
got  there,  when  a  steersman  was  called  for  by  the  pilot ;  for 
this  Jackson  was  always  on  the  alert  for  easy  duties,  and 
used  to  plead  his  delicate  health  as  the  reason  for  assuming 
them,  as  he  did  ;  though  I  used  to  think,  that  for  a  man  in 
poor  health,  he  was  very  swift  on  the  legs ;  at  least  when 
a  good  place  was  to  be  jumped  to  ;  though  that  might  only 
have  been  a  sort  of  spasmodic  exertion  under  strong  induce 
ments,  which  every  one  knows  the  greatest  invalids  will 
sometimes  show. 

And  though  the  sailors  were  always  very  bitter  against 
any  thing  like  sogering,  as  they  called  it ;  that  is,  any  thing 
that  savored  of  a  desire  to  get  rid  of  downright  hard  work ; 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  81 

yet,  I  observed  that,  though  this  Jackson  was  a  notorious 
old  soger  the  whole  voyage  (I  mean,  in  all  things  not  peril 
ous  to  do,  from  which  he  was  far  from  hanging  back),  and  in 
truth  was  a  great  veteran  that  way,  and  one  who  must  have 
passed  unhurt  through  many  campaigns  ;  yet,  they  never 
presumed  to  call  him  to  account  in  any  way  ;  or  to  let  him 
so  much  as  think,  what  they  thought  of  his  conduct.  But  I 
often  heard  them  call  him  many  hard  names  behind  his  back  ; 
and  sometimes,  too,  when,  perhaps,  they  had  just  been  tender 
ly  inquiring  after  his  health  before  his  face.  They  all  stood 
in  mortal  fear  of  him  ;  and  cringed  and  fawned  about  him 
like  so  many  spaniels  ;  and  used  to  rub  his  back,  after  he 
was  undressed  and  lying  in  his  bunk ;  and  used  to  run  up 
on  deck  to  the  cook-house,  to  warm  some  cold  coffee  for 
him  ;  and  used  to  fill  his  pipe,  and  give  him  chews  of  to 
bacco,  and  mend  his  jackets  and  trowsers ;  and  used  to 
watch,  and  tend,  and  nurse  him  every  way.  And  all  the 
time,  he  would  sit  scowling  on  them,  and  found  fault  with 
what  they  did  ;  and  I  noticed,  that  those  who  did  the  most 
for  him,  and  cringed  the  most  before  h,im,  "were  the  very 
ones  he  most  abused  ;  while  two  or  three  who  held  more 
aloof,  he  treated  with  a  little  consideration. 

It  is  not  for  me  to  say,  what  it  was  that  made  a  whole 
ship's  company  submit  so  to  the  whims  of  one  poor  miser 
able  man  like  Jackson.  I  only  know  that  so  it  was  ;  but 
I  have  no  doubt,  that  if  he  had  had  a  blue  eye  in  his  head, 
or  had  had  a  different  face  from  what  he  did  have,  they 
would  not  have  stood  in  such  awe  of  him.  And  it  aston 
ished  me,  to  see  that  one  of  the  seamen,  a  remarkably  robust 
and  good-humored  young  man  from  Belfast  in  Ireland,  was 
a  person  of  no  mark  or  influence  among  the  crew ;  but  on 
the  contrary  was  hooted  at,  and  trampled  upon,  and  made 
a  butt  and  laughing-stock ;  and  more  than  all,  was  continu 
ally  being  abused  and  snubbed  by  Jackson,  who  seemed  to 
hate  him  cordially,  because  of  his  great  strength  and  fine 
person,  and  particularly  because  of  his  red  cheeks, 

D* 


8:2  R  E  D  B  U  R  N ; 


But  then,  this  Belfast  man,  although  he  had  shipped  for 
an  able-seaman,  was  not  much  of  a  sailor  ;  and  that  always 
lowers  a  man  in  the  eyes  of  a  ship's  company  •  I  mean, 
when  he  ships  for  an  able-seaman,  but  is  not  able  to  da  the 
duty  of  one.  For  sailors  are  of  three  classes — able-seamen, 
ordinary-seamen,  and  boys  ;  and  they  receive  different  wages 
according  to  their  rank.  Generally,  a  ship's  company  of 
twelve  men  will  only  have  five  or  six  able  seamen,  who  if 
they  prove  to  understand  their  duty  every  way  (and  that  is 
no  small  matter  either,  as  I  shall  hereafter  show,  perhaps), 
are  looked  up  to,  and  thought  much  of  by  the  ordinary-sea 
men  and  boys,  who  reverence  their  very  pea-jackets,  and  lay 
up  their  sayings  in  their  hearts. 

But  you  must  not  think  from  this,  that  persons  called  boys 
aboard  merchant-ships  are  all  youngsters,  though  to  be  sure, 
I  myself  was  called  a  boy,  and  a  boy  I  was.  No.  In 
merchant-ships,  a  boy  means  a  green-hand,  a  landsman  on 
his  first  voyage.  And  never  mind  if  he  is  old  enough  to  be 
a  grandfather,  he  is  still  called  a  boy  ;  and  boys'  work  is  put 
upon  him. 

But  I  am  straying  off  from  what  I  was  going  to  say  about 
Jackson's  putting  an  end  to  the  dispute  between  the  two 
sailors  in  the  forecastle  after  breakfast.  After  they  had  been 
disputing  some  time  about  who  had  been  to  sea  the  longest, 
Jackson  told  them  to  stop  talking ;  and  then  bade  one  of 
them  open  his  mouth  ;  for,  said  he,  I  can  tell  a  sailor's  age 
just  like  a  horse's — by  his  teeth.  So  the  man  laughed,  and 
opened  his  mouth ;  and  Jackson  made  him  step  out  under 
the  scuttle,  where  the  light  came  down  from  deck  ;  and 
then  made  him  throw  his  head  back,  while  he  looked  into 
it,  and  probed  a  little  with  his  jack-knife,  like  a  baboon  peering 
into  a  junk- bottle.  I  trembled  for  the  poor  fellow,  just  as 
if  I  had  seen  him  under  the  hands  of  a  crazy  barber,  making 
signs  to  cut  his  throat,  and  he  all  the  while  sitting  stock 
still,  with  the  lather  on,  to  be  shaved.  For  I  watched  Jack 
son's  eye  and  saw  it  snapping,  and  a  sort  of  going  in  and  out, 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE. 


very  quick,  as  if  it  were  something  like  a  forked  tongue  ;  and 
somehow,  I  felt  as  if  he  were  longing  to  kill  the  man  ;  but 
at  last  he  grew  more  composed,  and  after  concluding  his  ex 
amination,  said,  that  the  first  man  was  the  oldest  sailor,  for 
the  ends  of  his  teeth  were  the  evenest  and  most  worn  down  ; 
which,  he  said,  arose  from  eating  so  much  hard  sea-biscuit ; 
and  this  was  the  reason  he  could  tell  a  sailor's  age  like  a 
horse's. 

At  this,  every  body  made  merry,  and  looked  at  each  other, 
as  much  as  to  say— -cowze,  boys,  let's  laugh  ;  and  they  did 
laugh  ;  and  declared  it  was  a  rare  joke. 

This  was  always  the  way  with  them.  They  made  a 
point  of  shouting  out,  whenever  Jackson  said  any  thing  with 
a  grin  ;  that  being  the  sign  to  them  that  he  himself  thought 
it  funny  ;  though  I  heard  many  good  jokes  from  others  pass 
off  without  a  smile  ;  and  once  Jackson  himself  (for,  to  tell 
the  truth,  he  sometimes  had  a  comical  way  with  him,  that 
is,  when  his  back  did  not  ache)  told  a  truly  funny  story,  but 
with  a  grave  face  ;  when,  not  knowing  how  he  meant  it, 
whether  for  a  laugh  or  otherwise,  they  all  sat  still,  waiting 
what  to  do,  and  looking  perplexed  enough  ;  till  at  last  Jack 
son  roared  out  upon  them  for  a  parcel  of  fools  and  idiots  ; 
and  told  them  to  their  beards,  how  it  was  ;  that  he  had  pur 
posely  put  on  his  grave  face,  to  see  whether  they  would  not 
look  grave,  too  ;  even  when  he  was  telling  something  that 
ought  to  split  their  sides.  And  with  that,  he  flouted,  and 
jeered  at  them,  and  laughed  them  all  to  scorn  ;  and  broke 
out  in  such  a  rage,  that  his  lips  began  to  glue  together  at 
the  corners  with  a  fine  white  foam. 

He  seemed  to  be  full  of  hatred  and  gall  against  every 
thing  and  every  body  in  the  world ;  as  if  all  the  world  was 
one  person,  and  had  done  him  some  dreadful  harm,  that  was 
rankling  and  festering  in  his  heart.  Sometimes  I  thought 
he  was  really  crazy  ;  and  often  felt  so  frightened  at  him, 
that  I  thought  of  going  to  the  captain  about  it,  and  telling 
him  Jackson  ought  to  be  confined,  lest  he  should  do  some 


84  REDBURN: 


terrible  thing  at  last.  But  upon  second  thoughts,  I  always 
gave  it  up  ;  for  the  captain  would  only  have  called  me  a 
fool,  and  sent  me  forward  again. 

But  you  must  not  think  that  all  the  sailors  were  alike  in 
abasing  themselves  before  this  man.  No  :  -there  were  three 
or  four  who  used  to  stand  up  sometimes  against  him ;  and 
when  he  was  absent  at  the  wheel,  would  plot  against  him 
among  the  other  sailors,  and  tell  them  what  a  shame  and 
ignominy  it  was,  that  such. a  poor  miserable  wretch  should 
be  such  a  tyrant  over  much  better  men  than  himself.  And 
they  begged  and  conjured  them  as  men,  to  put  up  with  it  no 
longer,  but  the  very  next  time,  that  Jackson  presumed  to 
play  the  dictator,  that  they  should  all  withstand  him,  and 
let  him  know  his  place.  Two  or  three  times  nearly  all 
hands  agreed  to  it,  with  the  exception  of  those  who  used  to 
slink  off  during  such  discussions  ;  and  swore  that  they  would 
not  any  more  submit  to  be  ruled  by  Jackson.  But  when 
the  time  came  to  make  good  their  oaths,  they  were  mum 
again,  and  let  every  thing  go  on  the  old  way  ;  so  that  those 
who  had  put  them  up  to  it,  had  to  bear  all  the  brunt  of 
Jackson's  wrath  by  themselves.  And  though  these  last 
would  stick  up  a  little  at  first,  and  even  mutter  something 
about  a  fight  to  Jackson ;  yet  in  the  end,  finding  themselves 
unbefriended  by  the  rest,  they  would  gradually  become  silent, 
and  leave  the  field  to  the  tyrant,  who  would  then  fly  out 
worse  than  ever,  and  dare  them  to  do  their  worst,  and  jeei 
at  them  for  white-livered  poltroons,  who  did  not  have  a 
mouthful  of  heart  in  them.  At  such  times,  there  were  no 
bounds  to  his  contempt ;  and  indeed,  all  the  time  he  seemed 
to  have  even  more  contempt  than  hatred,  for  every  body  and 
every  thing. 

As  for  me,  I  was  but  a  boy ;  and  at  any  time  aboard  ship, 
a  boy  is  expected  to  keep  quiet,  do  what  he  is  bid,  never  pre« 
Eume  to  interfere,  and  seldom  to  talk,  unless  spoken  to.  Foi 
merchant  sailors  have  a  great  idea  of  their  dignity,  and  supe 
riority  to  greenhorns  and  landsmen,  who  know  nothing 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  85 

about  a  ship  ;  and  they  seem  to  think,  that  an  able  seaman 
is  a  great  man  ;  at  least  a  much  greater  man  than  a  little 
boy.  And  the  able  seamen  in  the  Highlander  had  such 
grand  notions  about  their  seamanship,  that  I  almost  thought 
that  able  seamen  received  diplomas,  like  those  given  at  col 
leges  ;  and  were  made  a  sort  A.M.'s,  or  Masters  of  Arts. 

But  though  I  kept  thus  quiet,  and  had  very  little  to  say, 
and  well  knew  that  my  best  plan  was  to  get  along  peaceably 
with  every  body,  and  indeed  endure  a  good  deal  before  show 
ing  fight,  yet  I  could  not  avoid  Jackson's  evil  eye,  nor  escape 
his  bitter  enmity.  And  his  being  my  foe,  set  many  of  the 
rest  against  me  ;  or  at  least  they  were  afraid  to  speak  out  for 
me  before  Jackson ;  so  that  at  last  I  found  myself  a  sort  of 
Ishmael  in  the  ship,  without  a  single  friend  or  companion  ; 
and  I  began  to  feel  a  hatred  growing  up  in  me  against  the 
whole  crew — so  much  so,  that  I  prayed  against  it,  that  it 
might  not  master  my  heart  completely,  and  so  make  a  fiend 
of  me,  something  like  Jackson. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

HE    HAS    A    PINE    DAY    AT    SEA,   BEGINS   TO    LIKE    IT  J    BUT 
CHANGES    HIS   MIND. 

THE  second  day  out  of  port,  the  decks  being  washed  down 
and  breakfast  over,  the  watch  was  called,  and  the  mate  set 
us  to  work. 

It  was  a  very  bright  day.  The  sky  and  water  were  both 
of  the  same  deep  hue  ;  and  the  air  felt  warm  and  sunny  ;  so 
that  we  threw  off  our  jackets.  I  could  hardly  believe  that 
I  was  sailing  in  the  same  ship  I  had  been  in  during  the  night, 
when  every  thing  had  been  so  lonely  arid  dim  ;  and  I  could 
hardly  imagine  that  this  was  the  same  ocean,  now  so  beau 
tiful  and  blue,  that  during  part  of  the  night-watch  had  rolled 
along  so  black  and  forbidding. 

There  were  little  traces  of  sunny  clouds  all  over  the  heav 
ens  ;  and  little  fleeces  of  foam  all  over  the  sea  ;  and  the  ship 
made  a  strange,  musical  noise  under  her  bows,  as  she  glided 
along,  with  her  sails  all  still.  It  seemed  a  pity  to  go  to 
work  at  such  a  time  ;  and  if  we  could  only  have  sat  in  the 
windlass  again  ;  or  if  they  would  have  let  me  go  out  on  the 
bowsprit,  and  lay  down  between  the  man-ropes  there,  and 
look  over  at  the  fish  in  the  water,  and  think  of  home,  I  should 
have  been  almost  happy  for  a  time. 

I  had  now  completely  got  over  my  sea-sickness,  and  felt 
very  well ;  at  least  in  my  body,  though  my  heart  was  far 
from  feeling  right ;  so  that  I  could  now  look  around  me,  and 
make  observations. 

And  truly,  though  we  were  at  sea,  there  was  much  to 
behold  and  wonder  at ;  to  me,  who  was  on  my  first  voyage. 
What  most  amazed  me  was  the  sight  of  the  great  ocean 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  87 

itself,  for  we  were  out  of  sight  of  land.  All  round  us,  on  both 
sides  of  the  ship,  ahead  and  astern,  nothing  was  to  be  seen  but 
water — water — water  ;  not  a  single  glimpse  of  green  shore, 
not  the  smallest  island,  or  speck  of  moss  any  where.  Never 
did  I  realize  till  now  what  the  ocean  was  :  how  grand  and 
majestic,  how  solitary,  and  boundless,  and  beautiful  and  blue ; 
for  that  day  it  gave  no  tokens  of  squalls  or  hurricanes,  such 
as  I  had  heard  my  father  tell  of;  nor  could  I  imagine,  how 
any  thing  that  seemed  so  playful  and  placid,  could  be  lashed 
into  rage,  and  troubled  into  rolling  avalanches  of  foam,  and 
great  cascades  of  waves,  such  as  I.  saw  in  the  end. 

As  I  looked  at  it'  so  mild  and  sunny,  I  could  not  help 
calling  to  mind  my  little  brother's  face,  when  he  was  sleep 
ing  an  infant  in  the  cradle.  It  had  just  such  a  happy,  care 
less,  innocent  look ;  and  every  happy  little  wave  seemed 
gamboling  about  like  a  thoughtless  little  kid  in  a  pasture  ; 
and  seemed  to  look  up  in  your  face  as  it  passed,  as  if  it 
wanted  to  be  patted  and  caressed.  They  seemed  all  live 
things  with  hearts  in  them,  that  could  feel ;  and  I  almost 
felt  grieved,  as  we  sailed  in  among  them,  scattering  them 
under  our  broad  bows  in  sun-flakes,  and  riding  over  them 
like  a  great  elephant  among  lambs. 

But  what  seemed  perhaps  the  most  strange  to  me  of  all, 
was  a  certain  wonderful  rising  and  falling  of  the  sea ;  I  do 
not  mean  the  waves  themselves,  but  a  sort  of  wide  heaving 
and  swelling  and  sinking  all  over  the  ocean.  It  was  some 
thing  I  can  not  very  well  describe ;  but  I  know  very  well 
what  it  was,  and  how  it  affected  me.  It  made  me  almost 
dizzy  to  look  at  it ;  and  yet  I  could  not  keep  my  eyes  off  it, 
it  seemed  so  passing  strange  and  wonderful. 

I  felt  as  if  in  a  dream  all  the  time ;  and  when  I  could 
shut  the  ship  out,  almost  thought  I  was  in  some  new,  fairy 
world,  and  expected  to  hear  myself  called  to,  out  of  the  clear 
blue  air.,  or  from  the  depths  of  the  deep  blue  sea.  But  I 
did  not  have  much  leisure  to  indulge  in  such  thoughts ;  for 
the  men  were  now  getting  some  stunt-sails  ready  to  hoist 


88  REDBURN: 


aloft,  as  the  wind  was  getting  fairer  and  fairer  for  us  ;  and 
these  stun'-sails  are  light  canvas  which  are  spread  at  such 
times,  away  out  beyond  the  ends  of  the  yards,  where  they 
overhang  the  wide  water,  like  the  wings  of  a  great  bird. 

For  my  own  part,  I  could  do  but  little  to  help  the  rest, 
not  knowing  the  name  of  any  thing,  or  the  proper  way  to 
go  about  aught.  Besides,  I  felt  very  dreamy,  as  I  said  be 
fore  ;  arid  did  not  exactly  know  where,  or  what  I  was ;  every 
thing  was  so  strange  and  new. 

While  the  stun'-sails  were  lying  all  tumbled  upon  the 
deck,  and  the  sailors  were  fastening  them  to  the  booms,  get 
ting  them  ready  to  hoist,  the  mate  ordered  me  to  do  a  great 
many  simple  things,  none  of  which  could  I  comprehend, 
owing  to  the  queer  words  he  used  :  and  then,  seeing  me 
stand  quite  perplexed  and  confounded,  he  would  roar  out  at 
me,  and  call  me  all  manner  of  names,  and  the  sailors  would 
laugh  and  wink  to  each  other,  but  durst  not  go  farther  than 
that,  for  fear  of  the  mate,  who  in  his  own  presence  would 
not  let  any  body  laugh  at  me  but  himself. 

However,  I  tried  to  wake  up  as  much  as  I  could,  and 
keep  from  dreaming  with  my  eyes  open ;  and  being,  at  bot 
tom,  a  smart,  apt  lad,  at  last  I  managed  to  learn  a  thing 
or  two,  so  that  I  did  not  appear  so  much  like  a  fool  as  at 
first. 

People  who  have  never  gone  to  sea  for  the  first  time  as 
sailors,  can  not  imagine  how  puzzling  and  confounding  it  is. 
It  must  be  like  going  into  a  barbarous  country,  where  they 
speak  a  strange  dialect,  and  dress  in  strange  clothes,  and 
live  in  strange  houses.  For  sailors  have  their  own  names, 
even  for  things  that  are  familiar  ashore ;  and  if  you  call  a 
thing  by  its  shore  name,  you  are  laughed  at  for  an  ignoramus 
and  a  land-lubber.  This  first  day  I  speak  of,  the  mate 
having  ordered  me  to  draw  some  water,  I  asked  him  where 
I  was  to  get  the  pail ;  when  I  thought  I  had  committed 
some  dreadful  crime  ;  for  he  flew  into  a  great  passion,  and 
said  they  never  had  any  pails  at  sea,  and  then  I  learned  that 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  89 

they  were  always  called  buckets.  And  once  I  was  talking 
about  sticking  a  little  wooden  peg  into  a  bucket  to  stop  a 
leak,  when  he  flew  out  again,  and  said  there  were  no  pegs 
at  sea,  only  plugs.  And  just  so  it  was  with  every  thing 
else. 

But  besides  all  this,  there  is  such  an  infinite  number  of 
totally  new  names  of  new  things  to  learn,  that  at  first  it 
seemed  impossible  for  me  to  master  them  all.  If  you  have 
ever  seen  a  ship,  you  must  have  remarked  what  a  thicket 
of  ropes  there  are ;  and  how  they  all  seemed  mixed  and 
entangled  together  like  a  great  skein  of  yarn.  Now  the 
very  smallest  of  these  ropes  has  its  own  proper  name,  and 
many  of  them  are  very  lengthy,  like  the  names  of  young 
royal  princes,  such  as  the  starboard-main-lop-gallant-boio-line, 
or  the  larboard-fore-top-sail-clue-line. 

I  think  it  would  not  be  a  bad  plan  to  have  a  grand  new 
naming  of  a  ship's  ropes,  as  I  have  read,  they  once  had  a 
simplifying  of  the  classes  of  plants  in  Botany.  It  is  really 
wonderful  how  many  names  there  are  in  the  world.  There 
is  no  counting  the  names,  that  surgeons  and  anatomists  give 
to  the  various  parts  of  the  human  body ;  which,  indeed,  is 
something  like  a  ship;  its  bones  being  the* stiff  standing- 
rigging,  and  the  sinews  the  small  running  ropes,  that  man 
age  all  the  motions. 

I  wonder  whether  mankind  could  not  get  along  without 
all  these  names,  which  keep  increasing  every  day,  and  hour, 
and  moment ;  till  at  last  the  very  air  will  be  full  of  them  ; 
and  even  in  a  great  plain,  men  will  be  breathing  each  other's 
breath,  owing  to  the  vast  multitude  of  words  they  use,  that 
consume  all  the  air,  just  as  lamp-burners  do  gas.  But 
people  seem  to  have  a  great  love  for  names ;  for  to  know  a 
great  many  names,  seems  to  look  like  knowing  a  good  many 
things  ;  though  I  should  not  be  surprised,  if  there  were  a 
great  many  more  names,  than  things  in  the  world.  But  I 
must  quit  this  rambling,  and  return  to  my  story. 

At  last  we  hoisted  the  stun'-sails  up  to  the  top-sail  yards  ; 


R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


and  as  soon  as  the  vessel  felt  them,  she  gave  a  sort  of  bound 
like  a  horse,  and  the  breeze  blowing  more  and  more,  she 
went  plunging  along,  shaking  off  the  foam  from  her  bows, 
like  foam  from  a  bridle-bit.  Every  mast  and  timber  seemed 
to  have  a  pulse  in  it  that  was  beating  with  life  and  joy ;  and 
I  felt  a  wild  exulting  in  my  own  heart,  and  felt  as  if  I  would 
be  glad  to  bound  along  so  round  the  world. 

Then  was  I  first  conscious  of  a  wonderful  thing  in  me, 
that  responded  to  all  the  wild  commotion  of  the  outer  world ; 
and  went,  reeling  on  and  on  with  the  planets  in  their  orbits, 
and  was  lost  in  one  delirious  throb  at  the  center  of  the  All. 
A  wild  bubbling  and  bursting  was  at  my  heart,  as  if  a  hid 
den  spring  had  just  gushed  out  there  ;  and  my  blood  ran 
tingling  along  my  frame,  like  mountain  brooks  in  spring 
freshets. 

Yes  !  yes  !  give  me  this  glorious  ocean  life,  this  salt-sea 
life,  this  briny,  foamy  life,  when  the  sea  neighs  and  snorts, 
and  you  breathe  the  very  breath  that  the  great  whales  re 
spire  !  Let  me  roll  around  the  globe,  let  me  rock  upon  the 
sea ;  let  me  race  and  pant  out  my  life,  with  an  eternal 
breeze  astern,  and  an  endless  sea  before  ! 

But  how  soon  these  raptures  abated,  when  after  a  brief 
idle  interval,  we  were  again  set  to  work,  and  I  had  a  vile 
commission  to  clean  out  the  chicken  coops,  and  make  up  the 
beds  of  the  pigs  in  the  long-boat. 

Miserable  dog's  life  is  this  of  the  sea !  commanded  like  a 
slave,  and  set  to  work  like  an  ass  !  vulgar  and  brutal  men 
lording  it  over  me,  as  if  I  were  an  African  in  Alabama. 
Yes,  yes,  blow  on,  ye  breezes,  and  make  a  speedy  end  to  this 
abominable  voyage  ! 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

HE  CONTEMPLATES  MAKING-  A  SOCIAL  CALL  ON  THE  CAPTAIN  IN 
HIS  CABIN. 

WHAT  reminded  me  most  forcibly  of  my  ignominious  con 
dition,  was  the  widely  altered  manner  of  the  captain  toward 
me.  I  had  thought  him  a  fine,  funny  gentleman,  full  of 
mirth  and  good  humor,  and  good  will  to  seamen,  and  one 
who  could  not  fail  to  appreciate  the  difference  between  me 
and  the  rude  sailors  among  whom  I  was  thrown.  Indeed, 
I  had  made  no  doubt  that  he  would  in  some  special  manner 
take  me  under  his  protection,  and  prove  a  kind  friend  and 
benefactor  to  me  ;  as  I  had  heard  that  some  sea-captains  are 
fathers  to  their  crew ;  and  so  they  are ;  but  such  fathers  as 
Solomon's  precepts  tend  to  make — severe  and  chastising 
fathers,  fathers  whose  sense  of  duty  overcomes  the  sense  of 
love,  and  who  every  day,  in  some  sort,  play  the  part  of 
Brutus,  who  ordered  his  son  away  to  execution,  as  I  have 
read  in  our  old  family  Plutarch. 

Yes,  I  thought  that  Captain  Riga,  for  Riga  was  his 
name,  would  be  attentive  and  considerate  to  me,  and  strive 
to  cheer  me  up,  and  comfort  me  in  my  lonesomeness.  I  did 
not  even  deem  it  at  all  impossible  that  he  would  invite  me 
down  into  the  cabin  of  a  pleasant  night,  to  ask  me  questions 
concerning  my  parents,  and  prospects  in  life;  besides  obtain 
ing  from  me  some  anecdotes  touching  rny  great-uncle,  the  il 
lustrious  senator  ;  or  give  me  a  slate  and  pencil,  and  teach 
me  problems  in  navigation ;  or  perhaps  engage  me  at  a  game 
of  chess.  I  even  thought  he  might  invite  me  to  dinner  on  a 
sunny  Sunday,  and  help  me  plentifully  to  the  nice  cabin 
fare,  as  knowing  how  distasteful  the  salt  beef  and  pork,  and 


92  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


hard  biscuit  of  the  forecastle  must  at  first  be  to  a  boy  like 
me,  who  had  always  lived  ashore,  and  at  home. 

And  I  could  not  help  regarding  him  with  peculiar  emo 
tions,  almost  of  tenderness  and  love,  as  the  last  visible  link 
in  the  chain  of  associations  which  bound  me  to  my  home. 
For,  while  yet  in  port,  I  had  seen  him  and  Mr.  Jones,  my 
brother's  friend,  standing  together  and  conversing  ;  so  that 
from  the  captain  to  my  brother  there  was  but  one  interme 
diate  step  ;  and  my  brother  and  mother  and  sisters  were  one. 

And  this  reminds  me  how  often  I  used  to  pass  by  the 
places  on  deck,  where  I  remembered  Mr.  Jones  had  stood 
when  we  first  visited  the  ship  lying  at  the  wharf;  and  how 
I  tried  to  convince  myself  that  it  was  indeed  true,  that  he 
had  stood  there,  though  now  the  ship  was  so  far  away  on 
the  wide  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  he  perhaps  was  walking  down 
Wall-street,  or  sitting  reading  the  newspaper  in  his  counting 
room,  while  poor  I  was  so  differently  employed. 

When  two  or  three  days  had  passed  without  the  captain's 
speaking  to  me  in  any  way,  or  sending  word  into  the  fore 
castle  that  he  wished  me  to  drop  into  the  cabin  to  pay  my 
respects,  I  began  to  think  whether  I  should  not  make  the 
first  advances,  and  whether  indeed  he  did  not  expect  it  of 
me,  since  I  was  but  a  boy,  and  he  a  man  ;  and  perhaps  that 
might  have  been  the  reason  why  he  had  not  spoken  to  me 
yet,  deeming  it  more  proper  and  respectful  for  me  to  address 
him  first.  I  thought  he  might  be  offended,  too,  especially  if 
he  were  a  proud  man,  with  tender  feelings.  So  one  evening, 
a  little  before  sundown,  in  the  second  dog-watch,  when  there 
was  no  more  work  to  be  done,  I  concluded  to  call  and  see 
him. 

After  drawing  a  bucket  of  water,  and  having  a  good 
washing,  to  get  off  some  of  the  chicken-coop  stains,  I  went 
down  into  the  forecastle  to  dress  myself  as  neatly  as  I  could. 
I  put  on  a  white  shirt  in  place  of  my  red  one,  and  got  into 
a  pair  of  cloth  trowsers  instead  of  my  duck  ones,  and  put  on 
my  new  pumps,  and  then  carefully  brushing  my  shooting- 


H  I  8    F  I  R  S  T    V  O  Y  A  G  B.  93 

jacket,  I  put  that  on  over  all,  so  that  upon  the  whole,  I 
made  quite  a  genteel  figure,  at  least  for  a  forecastle,  though 
I  would  not  have  looked  so  well  in  a  drawing-room. 

When  the  sailors  saw  me  thus  employed,  they  did  not 
know  what  to  make  of  it,  and  wanted  to  know  whether  I 
was  dressing  to  go  ashore ;  I  told  them  no,  for  we  were  then 
out  of  sight  of  land ;  but  that  I  was  going  to  pay  my  respects 
to  the  captain.  Upon  which  they  all  laughed  and  shouted, 
as  if  I  were  a  simpleton ;  though  there  seemed  nothing  so 
very  simple  in  going  to  make  an  evening  call  upon  a  friend. 
When  some  of  them  tried  to  dissuade  me,  saying  I  was  green 
and  raw ;  but  Jackson,  who  sat  looking  on,  cried  out,  with 
a  hideous  grin,  "  Let  him  go,  let  him  go,  men — he's  a  nice 
boy.  Let  him  go  ;  the  captain  has  some  nuts  arid  raisins 
for  him."  Arid  so  he  was  going  on,  when  one  of  his  violent 
fits  of  coughing  seized  him,  and  he  almost  choked. 

As  I  was  about  leaving  the  forecastle,  I  happened  to  look 
at  my  hands,  and  seeing  them  stained  all  over  of  a  deep 
yellow,  for  that  morning  the  mate  had  set  me  to  tarring 
some  strips  of  canvas  for  the  rigging,  I  thought  it  would 
never  do  to  present  myself  before  a  gentleman  that  way  ;  so 
for  want  of  kids,  I  slipped  on  a  pair  of  woolen  mittens, 
which  my  mother  had  knit  for  me  to  carry  to  sea.  As  I 
was  putting  them  on,  Jackson  asked  me  whether  he  shouldn't 
call  a  carriage  ;  and  another  bade  me  not  forget  to  present 
his  best  respects  to  the  skipper.  I  left  them  all  tittering, 
and  coming  on  deck  was  passing  the  cook-house,  when  the 
old  cook  called  after  me,  saying  I  had  forgot  my  cane. 

But  I  did  not  heed  their  impudence,  and  was  walking 
straight  toward  the  cabin-door  on  the  quarter-deck,  when 
the  chief  mate  met  me.  I  touched  my  hat,  and  was  passing 
him,  when,  after  staring  at  me  till  I  thought  his  eyes  would 
burst  out,  he  all  at  once  caught  me  by  the  collar,  and  with 
a  voice  of  thunder,  wanted  to  know  what  I  meant  by  play 
ing  such  tricks  aboard  a  ship  that  he  was  mate  of  ?  I  told 
him  to  let  go  of  me,  or  I  would  complain  to  my  friend  the 


94  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


captain,  whom  I  intended  to  visit  that  evening.  Upon  this 
he  gave  me  such  a  whirl  round,  that  I  thought  the  Gulf 
Stream  was  in  my  head ;  and  then  shoved  me  forward, 
roaring  out  I  know  not  what.  Meanwhile  the  sailors  were 
all  standing  round  the  windlass  looking  aft,  mightily  tickled. 

Seeing  I  could  not  effect  my  object  that  night,  I  thought 
it  best  to  defer  it  for  the  present ;  and  returning  among  the 
sailors,  Jackson  asked  me  how  I  had  found  the  captain,  and 
whether  the  next  time  I  went,  I  would  not  take  a  friend 
along  and  introduce  him. 

The  upshot  of  this  business  was,  that  before  I  went  to 
sleep  that  night,  I  felt  well  satisfied  that  it  was  not  custom 
ary  for  sailors  to  call  on  the  captain  in  the  cabin  ;  and  I 
began  to  have  an  inkling  of  the  fact,  that  I  had  acted  like  a 
fool ;  but  it  all  arose  from  my  ignorance  of  sea  usages. 

And  here  I  may  as  well  state,  that  I  never  saw  the 
inside  of  the  cabin  during  the  whole  interval  that  elapsed 
from  our  sailing  till  our  return  to  New  York ;  though  I 
often  used  to  get  a  peep  at  it  through  a  little  pane  of  glass, 
set  in  the  house  on  deck,  just  before  the  helm,  where  a 
watch  was  kept  hanging  for  the  helmsman  to  strike  the  half 
hours  by,  with  his  little  bell  in  the  binnacle,  where  the  com 
pass  was.  And  it  used  to  be  the  great  amusement  of  the 
Bailors  to  look  in  through  the  pane  of  glass,  when  they  stood 
at  the  wheel,  and  watch  the  proceedings  in  the  cabin  ; 
especially  when  .the  steward  was  setting  the  table  for  din 
ner,  or  the  captain  was  lounging  over  a  decanter  of  wine  on 
a  little  mahogany  stand,  or  playing  the  game  called  solitaire, 
at  cards,  of  an  evening ;  for  at  times  he  was  all  alone  with 
his  dignity ;  though,  as  will  ere  long  be  shown,  he  general 
ly  had  one  pleasant  companion,  whose  society  he  did  not 
dislike.  ,'„ 

The  day  following  my  attempt  to  drop  in  at  the  cabin,  I 
happened  to  be  making  fast  a  rope  011  the  quarter-deck, 
when  the  captain  suddenly  made  his  appearance,  promenad 
ing  up  and  down,  and  smoking  a  cigar.  He  looked  very 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  95 


good-humored  and  amiable,  and  it  being  just  after  his  din 
ner,  I  thought  that  this,  to  be  sure,  was  just  the  chance  I 
wanted. 

I  waited  a  little  while,  thinking  he  would  speak  to  me 
himself ;  but  as  he  did  not,  I  went  up  to  him,  and  began  by 
saying  it  was  a  very  pleasant  day,  and  hoped  he  was  very 
well.  I  never  saw  a  man  fly  into  such  a  rage  ;  I  thought 
he  was  going  to  knock  me  down  ;  but  after  standing  speech 
less  awhile,  he  all  at  once  plucked  his  cap  from  his  head 
and  threw  it  at  me.  I  don't  know  what  impelled  me,  but 
I  ran  to  the  lee-scuppers  where  it  fell,  picked  it  up,  and  gave 
it  to  him  with  a  bow;  when  the  mate  came  running  up, 
and  thrust  me  forward  again  ;  and  after  he  had  got  me  as 
far  as  the  windlass,  he  wanted  to  know  whether  I  was  crazy 
or  not ;  for  if  I  was,  he  would  put  me  in  irons  right  off,  and 
have  done  with  it. 

But  I  assured  him  I  was  in  my  right  mind,  and  knew 
perfectly  well  that  I  had  been  treated  in  the  most  rude  and 
ungentlemanly  manner  both  by  him  and  Captain  Riga. 
Upon  this,  he  rapped  out  a  great  oath,  and  told  me  if  I  ever 
repeated  what  I  had  done  that  evening,  or  ever  again  pre 
sumed  so  much  as  to  lift  my  hat  to  the  captain,  he  would 
tie  me  into  the  rigging,  and  keep  me  there  until  I  learned 
better  manners.  "  You  are  very  green,"  said  he,  "  but  I'll 
ripen  you."  Indeed  this  chief  mate  seemed  to  have  the 
keeping  of  the  dignity  of  the  captain  ;  who,  in  some  sort, 
seemed  too  dignified  personally  to  protect  his  own  dignity. 

I  thought  this  strange  enough,  to  be  reprimanded,  and 
charged  with  rudeness  for  an  act  of  common  civility.  How 
ever,  seeing  how  matters  stood,  I  resolved  to  let  the  captain 
alone  for  the  future,  particularly  as  he  had  shown  himself  so 
deficient  in  the  ordinary  breeding  of  a  gentleman.  And  I 
could  hardly  credit  it,  that  this  was  the  same  man  who  had 
been  so  very  civil,  and  polite,  and  witty,  when  Mr.  Jones 
and  I  called  upon  him  in  port. 

But  this  astonishment  of  mine  was  much  increased,  when 


96  B  £  D  B  U  R  N : 


some  days  after,  a  storm  came  upon  us,  and  the  captain 
rushed  out  of  the  cabin  in  his  nightcap,  and  nothing1  else  but 
his  shirt  on ;  and  leaping  up  on  the  poop,  began  to  jump  up 
and  down,  and  curse  and  swear,  and  call  the  men  aloft  all 
manner  of  hard  names,  just  like  a  common  loafer  in  the 
street. 

Besides  all  this,  too,  I  noticed  that  while  we  were  at  sea, 
he  wore  nothing  but  old  shabby  clothes,  very  different  from 
the  glossy  suit  I  had  seen  him  in  at  our  first  interview,  and 
after  that  on  the  steps  of  the  City  Hotel,  where  he  always 
boarded  when  in  New  York.  Now,  he  wore  nothing  but 
old-fashioned  snuff-colored  coats,  with  high  collars  and  short 
waists  ;  and  faded,  short-legged  pantaloons,  very  tight  about 
the  knees ;  and  vests,  that  did  not  conceal  his  waistbands, 
owing  to  their  being  so  short,  just  like  a  little  boy's.  And 
his  hats  were  all  caved  in,  and  battered,  as  if  they  had  been 
knocked  about  in  a  cellar  ;  and  his  boots  were  sadly  patched. 
Indeed,  I  began  to  think  that  he  was  but  a  shabby  fellow 
after  all ;  particularly  as  his  whiskers  lost  their  gloss,  and  he 
went  days  together  without  shaving ;  and  his  hair,  by  a  sort 
of  miracle,  began  to  grow  of  a  pepper  and  salt  color,  which 
might  have  been  owing,  though,  to  his  discontinuing  the"  use 
of  some  kind  of  dye  while  at  sea.  I  put  him  down  as  a 
sort  of  impostor  ;  and  while  ashore,  a  gentleman  on  false 
pretenses ;  for  no  gentleman  would  have  treated  another 
gentleman  as  he  did  me. 

Yes,  Captain  Riga,  thought  I,  you  are  no  gentleman,  and 
you  know  it ! 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE    MELANCHOLY   STATE   OF   HIS   WARDROBE. 

AND  now  that  I  have  been  speaking  of  the  captain's  old 
clothes,  I  may  as  well  speak  of  mine. 

It  was  very  early  in  the  month  of  June  that  we  sailed ; 
and  I  had  greatly  rejoiced  that  it  was  that  time  of  the  year  ; 
for  it  would  be  warm  and  pleasant  upon  the  ocean,  I  thought ; 
and  my  voyage  would  be  like  a  summer  excursion  to  the 
sea  shore,  for  the  benefit  of  the  salt  water,  and  a  change 
of  scene  and  society. 

So  I  had  not  given  myself  much  concern  about  what  I 
should  wear ;  and  deemed  it  wholly  unnecessary  to  provide 
myself  with  a  great  outfit  of  pilot-cloth  jackets,  and  trows- 
ers,  and  Guernsey  frocks,  and  oil-skin  suits,  and  sea,-boots, 
and  many  other  things,  which  old  seamen  carry  in  their 
chests.  But  one  reason  was,  that  I  did  not  have  the  money 
to  buy  them  with,  even  if  I  had  wanted  to.  So  in  addition 
to  the  clothes  I  had  brought  from  home,  I  had  only  bought 
a  red  shirt,  a  tarpaulin  hat,  and  a  belt  and  knife,  as  I  have 
previously  related,  which  gave  me  a  sea  outfit,  something 
like  the  Texian  rangers',  whose  uniform,  they  say,  consists 
of  a  shirt  collar  and  a  pair  of  spurs. 

But  I  was  not  many  days  at  sea,  when  I  found  that  my 
shore  clothing,  or  "  long  togs,"  as  the  sailors  call  them,  were 
but  ill  adapted  to  the  life  I  now  led.  When  I  went  aloft, 
at  my  yard-arm  gymnastics,  my  pantaloons  were  all  the  time 
ripping  and  splitting  in  every  direction,  particularly  about 
the  seat,  owing  to  their  not  being  cut  sailor-fashion,  with  low 
waistbands,  and  to  wear  without  suspenders.  So  that  I  was 
often  placed  in  most  unpleasant  predicaments,  straddling  the  : 

E 


R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


rigging,  sometimes  in  plain  sight  of  the  cabin,  with  my  table 
linen  exposed  in  the  most  inelegant  and  ungentlemanly  man 
ner  possible. 

And  worse  than  all,  my  best  pair  of  pantaloons,  and  the 
pair  I  most  prided  myself  upon,  was  a  very  conspicuous  and 
remarkable  looking  pair. 

I  had  had  them  made  to  order  by  our  village  tailor,  a 
little  fat  man,  very  thin  in  the  legs,  and  who  used  to  say  he 
imported  the  latest  fashions  direct  from  Paris  ;  thQugh  all  the 
fashion  plates  in  his  shop  were  very  dirty  with  fly-marks. 

Well,  this  tailor  made  the  pantaloons  I  speak  of,  and 
while  he  had  them  in  hand,  I  used  to  call  and  see  him 
two  or  three  times  a  day  to  try  them  on,  and  hurry  him  for 
ward  ;  for  he  was  an  old  man  with  large  round  spectacles, 
and  could  not  see  very  well,  and  had  no  one  to  help  him  but 
a  sick  wife,  with  five  grandchildren  to  take  care  of;  and 
besides  that,  he  was  such  a  great  snuff-taker,  that  it  inter 
fered  with  his  business  ;  for  he  took  several  pinches  for  every 
stitch,  and  would  sit  snuffling  and  blowing  his  nose  over  my 
pantaloons,  till  I  used  to  get  disgusted  with  him.  Now, 
this  old  tailor  had  shown  me  the  pattern,  after  which  he 
intended  to  make  my  pantaloons  ;  but  I  improved  upon  it, 
and  bade  him  have  a  slit  on  the  outside  of  each  leg,  at  the 
foot,  to  button  up  with  a  row  of  six  brass  bell  buttons  ;  for 
a  grown-up  cousin  of  mine,  who  was  a  great  sportsman,  used 
to  wear  a  beautiful  pair  of  pantaloons,  made  precisely  in  that 
way. 

And  these  were  the  very  pair  I  now  had  at  sea ;  the 
sailors  made  a  great  deal  of  fun  of  them,  and  were  all  the 
time  calling  on  each  other  to  "  tivig"  them  ;  and  they  would 
ask  me  to  lend  them  a  button  or  two,  by  way  of  a  joke  ;  and 
then  they  would  ask  me  if  I  was  not  a  soldier.  Showing 
very  plainly  that  they  had  no  idea  that  my  pantaloons  were 
a  very  genteel  pair,  made  in  the  height  of  the  sporting  fash 
ion,  and  copied  from  my  cousin's,  who  was  a  young  man  of 
|  fortune  and  drove  a  tilbury. 


HIS    FIRST    VO1AGE.  99 


When  my  pantaloons  ripped  and  tore,  as  I  have  said,  I 
did  my  best  to  mend  and  patch  them  ;  but  not  being  much 
of  a  sempstress,  the  more  I  patched  the  more  they  parted  ; 
because  I  put  my  patches  on,  without  heeding  the  joints  of 
the  legs,  which  only  irritated  my  poor  pants  the  more,  and 
put  them  out  of  temper. 

Nor  must  I  forget  my  boots,  which  were  almost  new 
when  I  left  home.  They  had  been  my  Sunday  boots,  and 
fitted  me  to  a  charm.  I  neyer  had  had  a  pair  of  boots  that  I 
liked  better ;  I  used  to  turn  my  toes  out  when  I  walked  in 
them,  unless  it  was  night  time,  when  no  one  could  see  me, 
and  I  had  something  else  to  think  of;  and  I  used  to  keep 
looking  at  them  during  church  ;  so  that  I  lost  a  good  deal 
of  the  sermon.  In  a  word,  they  were  a  beautiful  pair  of 
boots.  But  all  this  only  unfitted  them  the  more  for  sea- 
service  ;  as  I  soon  discovered.  They  had  very  high  heels, 
which  were  all  the  time  tripping  me  in  the  rigging,  and 
several  times  came  near  pitching  me  overboard  ;  and  the 
salt  water  made  them  shrink  in  such  a  manner,  that  they 
pinched  me  terribly  about  tjie  instep  ;  and  I  was  obliged  to 
gash  them  cruelly,  which  went  to  my  very  heart.  The  legs 
were  quite  long,  coming  a  good  way  up  toward  my  knees, 
and  the  edges  were  mounted  with  red  morocco.  The  sailors 
used  to  call  them  my  "  gaff -topsail-boots"  And  sometimes 
they  used  to  call  me  "  Boots,"  and  sometimes  "  Buttons," 
on  account  of  the  ornaments  on  my  pantaloons  and  shooting- 
jacket. 

At  last,  I  took  their  advice,  and  "razeed"  them,  as  they 
phrased  it.  That  is,  I  amputated  the  legs,  and  shaved  off 
the  heels  -to  the  bare  soles ;  which,  however,  did  not  much 
improve  them,  for  it  made  my  feet  feel  flat  as  flounders, 
and  besides,  brought  me  down  in  the  world,  and  made  me 
slip  and  slide  about  the  decks,  as  I  used  to  at  home,  when  I 
wore  straps  on  the  ice. 

As  for  my  tarpaulin  hat,  it  was  a  very  cheap  one  ;   and  • 
therefore  proved  a  real  sham  and  shave  ;   it  leaked  like  an 


100  RED  BURN: 


old  shingle  roof;  and  in  a  rain  storm,  kept  my  hair  wet  and 
disagreeable.  Besides,  from  lying  down  on  deck  in  it,  dur 
ing  the  night  watches,  it  got  bruised  and  battered,  and  lost 
all  its  beauty ;  so  that  it  was  unprofitable  every  way. 

But  I  had  almost  forgotten  my  shooting-jacket,  which 
was  made  of  moleskin.  Every  day,  it  grew  smaller  and 
smaller,  particularly  after  a  rain,  until  at  last  I  thought  it 
would  completely  exhale,  and  leave  nothing  but  the  bare 
seams,  by  way  of  a  skeleton,  on  my  back.  It  became  un 
speakably  unpleasant,  when  we  got  into  rather  cold  weather, 
crossing  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland,  when  the  only  way  I 
had  to  keep  warm  during  the  night,  was  to  pull  on  my 
waistcoat  and  my  roundabout,  and  then  clap  the  shooting- 
jacket  over  all.  This  made  it  pinch  me  under  the  arms, 
and  it  vexed,  irritated,  and  tormented  me  every  way  ;  and 
used  to  incommode  my  arms  seriously  when  I  was  pulling 
the  ropes ;  so  much  so,  that  the  mate  asked  me  once  if  I 
had  the  cramp. 

I  may  as  well  here  glance  at  some  trials  and  tribulations 
of  a  similar  kind.  I  had  no  mattress,  or  bed-clothes,  of  any 
sort ;  for  the  thought  of  them  had  never  entered  my  mind 
before  going  to  sea ;  so  that  I  was  obliged  to  sleep  on  the 
bare  boards  of  my  bunk  ;  and  when  the  ship  pitched  vio 
lently,  and  almost  stood  upon  end,  I  must  have  looked  like 
an  Indian  baby  tied  to  a  plank,  and  hung  up  against  a  tree 
like  a  crucifix. 

I  have  already  mentioned  my  total  want  of  table-tools  ; 
never  dreaming,  that,  in  this  respect,  going  to  sea  as  a  sailor 
was  something  like  going  to  a  boarding-school,  where  you 
must  furnish  your  own  spoon  and  knife,  fork,  and  napkin. 
But  at  length,  I  was  so  happy  as  to  barter  with  a  steerage 
passenger  a  silk  handkerchief  of  mine  for  a  half-gallon  iron 
pot,  with  hooks  to  it,  to  hang  on  a  grate  ;  and  this  pot  I 
used  to  present  at  the  cook-house  for  my  allowance  of  coffee 
and  tea.  It  gave  me  a  good  deal  of  trouble,  though,  to  keep 
it  clean,  being  much  disposed  to  rust ;  and  the  hooks  some- 


HIS  FIRST 


times  scratched  my  face  when  I  was  drinking  ;  and  it  was 
unusually  large  and  heavy  ;  so  that  my  breakfasts  were  de 
prived  of  all  ease  and  satisfaction,  and  became  a  toil  and  a 
labor  to  me.  And  I  was  forced  to  use  the  same  pot  for  my 
bean-soup,  three  times  a  week,  which  imparted  to  it  a  bad 
flavor  for  coffee. 

I  can  not  tell  how  I  really  suffered  in  many  ways  for 
my  improvidence  and  heedlessness,  in  going  to  sea  so  ill 
provided  with  every  thing  calculated  to  make  my  situation 
at  all  comfortable,  or  even  tolerable.  In  time,  my  wretch 
ed  "  long  togs"  began  to  drop  off  my  back,  and  I  looked 
like  a  Sam  Patch,  shambling  round  the  deck  in  my  rags 
and  the  wreck  of  my  gaff-topsail-boots.  I  often  thought 
what  my  friends  at  home  would  have  said,  if  they  could 
but  get  one  peep  at  me.  But  I  hugged  myself  in  my  mis 
erable  shooting-jacket,  when  I  considered  that  that  degrada 
tion  and  shame  never  could  overtake  me  ;  yet,  I  thought  it 
a  galling  mockery,  when  I  remembered  that  my  sisters  had 
promised  to  tell  all  inquiring  friends,  that  Wellingborough 
had  gone  "abroad;"  just  as  if  T  was  visiting  Europe  on  & 
tour  with  my  tutor,  as  poor  simple  Mr.  Jones  had  hinted  to 
the  captain. 

Still,  in  spite  of  the  melancholy  which  sometimes  over 
took  me,  there  were  several  little  incidents  that  made  me 
forget  myself  in  the  contemplation  of  the  strange  and  to  me 
most  wonderful  sights  of  the  sea. 

And  perhaps  nothing  struck  into  me  such  a  feeling  of 
wild  romance,  as  a  view  of  the  first  vessel  we  spoke.  It 
was  of  a  clear  sunny  afternoon,  and  she  came  bearing  down 
upon  us,  a  most  beautiful  sight,  with  all  her  sails  spread 
wide.  She  came  very  near,  and  passed  under  our  stern  ; 
and  as  she  leaned  over  to  the  breeze,  showed  her  decks  fore 
and  aft  ;  and  I  saw  the  strange  sailors  grouped  upon  the 
forecastle,  and  the  cook  looking  out  of  his  cook-house  with  a 
ladle  in  his  hand,  and  the  captain  in  a  green  jacket  sitting 
on  the  taffrail  with  a  speaking-trumpet. 


And  here,  had  this  vessel  come  out  of  the  infinite  blue 
ocean,  with  all  these  human  beings  on  board,  and  the  srnoke 
tranquilly  mounting  up  into  the  sea-air  from  the  cook's  fun 
nel  as  if  it  were  a  chimney  in  a  city  ;  and  every  thing  look 
ing  so  cool,  and  calm,  and  of-course,  in  the  midst  of  what 
to  me,  at  least,  seemed  a  superlative  marvel. 

Hoisted  at  her  mizzen-peak  was  a  red  flag,  with  a  turret- 
ed  white  castle  in  the  middle,  which  looked  foreign  enough, 
and  made  me  stare  all  the  harder. 

Our  captain,  who  had  put  on  another  hat  and  coat,  and 
was  lounging  in  an  elegant  attitude  on  the  poop,  now  put 
his  high  polished  brass,  trumpet  to  his  mouth,  and  said  in  a 
very  rude  voice  for  conversation,  "Where  from?" 

To  which  the  other  captain  rejoined  with  some  outlandish 
Dutch  gibberish,  of  which  we  could  only  make  out,  that  the 
ship  belonged  to  Hamburg,  as  her  flag  denoted. 

Hamburg!  Bless  my  soul  !  and  here  I  am  on  the 
great  Atlantic  Ocean,  actually  beholding  a  ship  from  Hol 
land  !  It  was  passing  strange.  In  my  intervals  of  leisure 
from  other  duties,  I  followed  the  strange  ship  till  she  was 
quite  a  little  speck  in  the  distance. 

I  could  not  but  be  struck  with  the  manner  of  the  two 
sea-captains  during  their  brief  interview.  Seated  at  their 
ease  on  their  respective  "  poops"  toward  the  stern  of  tHeir 
ships,  while  the  sailors  were  obeying  their  behests ;  they 
touched  hats  to  each  other,  exchanged  compliments,  and 
drove  on,  with  all  the  indifference  of  two  Arab  horsemen 
accosting  each  other  on  an  airing  in  the  Desert.  To  them, 
I  suppose,  the  great  Atlantic  Ocean  was  a  puddle. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

AT     DEAD    OF    NIGHT    HE    IS    SENT    UP    TO     LOOSE     THE     MAIN- 
SKYSAIL. 

I  MUST  now  run  back  a  little,  and  tell  of  my  first  going 
aloft  at  sea. 

It  happened  on  the  second  night  out  of  port,  during  the 
middle  watch,  when  the  sea  was  quite  calm,  and  the  breeze 
was  mild. 

The  order  was  given  to  loose  the  main-skysail,  which  is 
the  fifth  and  highest  sail  from  deck.  It  was  a  very  small 
sail,  and  from  the  forecastle  looked  no  bigger  than  a  cambric 
pocket-handkerchief.  But  I  have  heard  that  some  ships 
carry  still  smaller  sails,  above  the  skysail ;  called  moon-sails, 
and  sky-scrapers,  and  cloud-rakers.  But  I  shall  not  believe 
in  them  till  I  see  them  ;  a  skysail  seems  high  enough  in  all 
conscience  ;  and  the  idea  of  any  thing  higher  than  that, 
seems  preposterous.  Besides,  it  looks  almost  like  tempting 
heaven,  to  brush  the  very  firmament  so,  and  almost  put  the 
eyes  of  the  stars  out ;  when  a  flaw  of  wind,  too,,  might  very 
soon  take  the  conceit  out  of  these  cloud-defying  cloud- 
rakers. 

Now,  when  the  order  was  passed  to  loose  the  skysail,  an 
old  Dutch  sailor  came  up  to  me,  and  said,  "  Buttons,  my 
boy,  it's  high  time  you  be  doing  something ;  and  it's  boy's 
business,  Buttons,  to  loose  de  royals,  and  not  old  men's  busi 
ness,  like  me.  Now,  d'ye  see  dat  leetle  fellow  way  up  dare  ? 
dare,  just  behind  dem  stars  dare  :  well,  tumble  up,  now, 
Buttons,  I  zay,  and  looze  him  ;  way  you  go,  Buttons." 

All  the  rest  joining  in,  and  seeming  unanimous  in  the 
opinion,  that  it  was  high  time  for  me  to  be  stirring  myself, 


104  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


and  doing  boy's  business,  as  they  called  it,  I  made  no  more 
ado,  but  jumped  into  the  rigging.  Up  I  went,  not  daring 
to  look  down,  but  keeping  my  eyes  glued,  as  it  were,  to  the 
shrouds,  as  I  ascended. 

It  was  a  long  road  up  those  stairs,  and  I  began  to  pant 
and  breathe  hard,  before  I  was  half  way.  But  I  kept  at  it 
till  I  got  to  the  Jacob's  Ladder  ;  and  they  may  well  call  it 
so,  for  it  took  me  almost  into  the  clouds  ;  and  at  last,  to  my 
own  amazement,  I  found  myself  hanging  on  the  skysail- 
yard,  holding  on  might  and  main  to  the  mast ;  and  curling 
my  feet  round  the  rigging,  as  if  they  were  another  pair  of 
hands. 

For  a  few  moments  I  stood  awe-stricken  and  mute.  I 
could  not  see  far  out  upon  the  ocean,  owing  to  the  darkness 
of  the  night ;  and  from  my  lofty  perch,  the  sea  looked  like 
a  great,  black  gulf,  hemmed  in,  all  round,  by  beetling  black 
cliffs.  I  seemed  all  alone  ;  treading  the  midnight  clouds  ; 
and  every  second,  expected  to  find  myself  falling — falling — 
falling,  as  I  have  felt  when  the  nightmare  has  been  on  me. 

I  could  but  just  perceive  the  ship  below  me,  like  a  long 
narrow  plank  in  the  water  ;  and  it  did  not  seem  to  belong 
at  all  to  the  yard,  over  which  I  was  hanging.  A  gull,  or 
some  sort  of  sea-fowl,  was  flying  round  the  truck  over  my 
head,  within  a  few  yards  of  my  face  ;  and  it  almost  fright 
ened  me  to  hear  it ;  it  seemed  so  much  like  a  spirit,  at  such 
a  lofty  and  solitary  height. 

Though  there  was  a  pretty  smooth  sea,  and  little  wind ; 
yet,  at  this  extreme  elevation,  the  ship's  motion  was  very 
great ;  so  that  when  the  ship  rolled  one  way,  I  felt  some 
thing  as  a  fly  must  feel,  walking  the  ceiling  ;  and  when  it 
rolled  the  other  way,  I  felt  as  if  I  was  hanging  along  a 
slanting  pine-tree. 

But  presently  I  heard  a  distant,  hoarse  noise  from  below ; 
and  though  I  could  not  make  out  any  thing  intelligible,  I 
knew  it  was  the  mate  hurrying  me.  So  in  a  nervous,  trem 
bling  desperation,  I  went  to  casting  off  the  gaskets,  or  lines 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  105 

tying  up  the  sail  ;  and  when  all  was  ready,  sung  out  as  I 
had  been  told,  to  "  hoist  away  /"  And  hoist  they  did,  and 
me  too  along  with  the  yard  and  sail ;  for  I  had  no  time  to 
get  off,  they  were  so  unexpectedly  quick  about  it.  It  seemed 
like  magic ;  there  I  was,  going  up  higher  and  higher  ;  the 
yard  rising  under  me,  as  if  it  were  alive,  and  no  soul  in 
sight.  Without  knowing  it  at  the  time,  I  was  in  a  good 
deal  of  danger,  but  it  was  so  dark  that  I  could  not  see  well 
enough  to  feel  afraid — at  least  on  that  account ;  though  I 
felt  frightened  enough  in  a  promiscuous  way.  I  only  held 
on  hard,  and  made  good  the  saying  of  old  sailors,  that  the 
last  person  to  fall  overboard  from  the  rigging  is  a  landsman, 
because  he  grips  the  ropes  so  fiercely ;  whereas  old  tars  are 
less  careful,  and  sometimes  pay  the  penalty. 

After  this  feat,  I  got  down  rapidly  on  deck,  and  received 
something  like  a  compliment  from  Max  the  Dutchman. 

This  man  was  perhaps  the  best  natured  man  among  the 
crew ;  at  any  rate,  he  treated  me  better  than  the  rest  did  ; 
and  for  that  reason  he  deserves  some  mention. 

Max  was  an  old  bachelor  of  a  sailor,  very  precise  about 
his  wardrobe,  and  prided  himself  greatly  upon  his  seaman 
ship,  and  entertained  some  straight-laced,  old-fashioned  no 
tions  about  the  duties  of  boys  at  sea.  His  hair,  whiskers, 
and  cheeks  were  of  a  fiery  red  ;  and  as  he  wore  a  red  shirt, 
he  was  altogether  the  most  combustible  looking  man  I  ever 
saw. 

Nor  did  his  appearance  belie  him ;  for  his  temper  was 
very  inflammable  ;  and  at  a  word,  he  would  explode  in  a 
shower  of  hard  words  and  imprecations.  It  was  Max  that 
several  times  set  on  foot  those  conspiracies  against  Jackson, 
which  I  have  spoken  of  before  ;  but  he  ended  by  paying  him 
a  grumbling  homage,  full  of  resentful  reservations. 

Max  sometimes  manifested  some  little  interest  in  my 
welfare  ;  and  often"  discoursed  concerning  the  sorry  figure  I 
would  cut  in  my  tatters  when  we  got  to  Liverpool,  and  the 
discredit  it  would  bring  on  the  American  Merchant  Service ; 


106  REDBURN: 


for  like  all  European  seamen  in  American  ships,  Max  prided 
himself  not  a  little  upon  his  naturalization  as  a  Yankee,  and 
if  he  could,  would  have  been  very  glad  to  have  passed  him 
self  off  for  a  born  native. 

But  notwithstanding  his  grief  at  the  prospect  of  my  re 
flecting  discredit  upon  his  adopted  country,  he  never  offered 
to  better  my  wardrobe,  by  loaning  me  any  thing  from  his 
own  well-stored  chest.  Like  many  other  well-wishers,  he 
contented  him  with  sympathy.  Max  also  betrayed  some 
anxiety  to  know  whether  I  knew  how  to  dance  ;  lest,  when 
the  ship's  company  went  ashore,  I  should  disgrace  them  by 
exposing  my  awkwardness  in  some  of  the  sailor  saloons. 
But  I  relieved  his  anxiety  on  that  head. 

He  was  a  great  scold,  and  fault-finder,  and  often  took  me 
to  task  about  my  short-comings ;  but  herein,  he  was  not 
alone  ;  for  every  one  had  a  finger,  or  a  thumb,  and  sometimes 
both  hands,  in  my  unfortunate  pie. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE    COOK    AND    STEWARD. 

IT  was  on  a  Sunday  we  made  the  Banks  of  Newfound 
land  ;  a  drizzling,  foggy,  clammy  Sunday.  You  could  hardly 
see  the  water,  owing  to  the  mist  and  vapor  upon  it ;  and 
every  thing  was  so  flat  and  calm,  I  almost  thought  we  must 
have  somehow  got  back  to  New  York,  and  were  lying  at 
the  foot  of  Wall-street  again  in  a  rainy  twilight.  The 
decks  were  dripping  with  wet,  so  that  in  the  dense  fog,  it 
seemed  as  if  we  were  standing  on  the  roof  of  a  house  in  a 
shower. 

It  was  a  most  miserable  Sunday  ;  and  several  of  the 
sailors  had  twinges  of  the  rheumatism,  and  pulled  on  their 
monkey-jackets.  As  for  Jackson,  he  was  all  the  time  rub 
bing  his  back  and  snarling  like  a  dog. 

I  tried  to  recall  all  my  pleasant,  sunny  Sundays  ashore ; 
and  tried  to  imagine  what  they  were  doing  at  home  ;  and 
whether  our  old  family  friend,  Mr.  Bridenstoke,  would  drop 
in,  with  his  silver-mounted  tasseled  cane,  between  churches, 
as  he  used  to  ;  and  whether  he  would  inquire  about 
myself. 

But  it  would  not  do.  I  could  hardly  realize  that  it  was 
Sunday  at  all.  Every  thing  went  on  pretty  much  the  same 
as  before.  There  was  no  church  to  go  to ;  no  place  to  take 
a  walk  in  ;  no  friend  to  call  upon.  I  began  to  think  it 
must  be  a  sort  of  second  Saturday  ;  a  foggy  Saturday,  when 
school-boys  stay  at  home  reading  Robinson  Crusoe. 

The  only  man  who  seemed  to  be  taking  his  ease  that  day, 
was  our  black  cook  ;  who  according  to  the  invariable  custom 
at  sea,  always  went  by  the  name  of  the  doctor. 


108  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


And  doctors,  cooks  certainly  are,  the  very  best  medicos 
in  the  world;  for  what  pestilent  pills  and  potions  of  the 
Faculty  are  half  so  servicable  to  man,  and  health-and-strength- 
giving,  as  roasted  lamb  and  green  peas,  say,  in  spring ;  and 
roast  beef  and  cranberry  sauce  in  winter  ?  Will  a  dose  of 
calomel  and  jalap  do  you  as  much  good  ?  Will  a  bolus 
build  up  a  fainting  man  ?  Is  there  any  satisfaction  in 
dining  off  a  powder  ?  But  these  doctors  of  the  frying-pan 
sometimes  kill  men  off  by  a  surfeit ;  or  give  them  the  head 
ache,  at  least.  Well,  what  then  ?  No  matter.  For  if 
with  their  most  goodly  and  ten  times  jolly  medicines,  they 
now  and  then  fill  our  nights  with  tribulations,  and  abridge 
our  days,  what  of  the  social  homicides  perpetrated  by  the 
Faculty  ?  And  when  you  die  by  a  pill-doctor's  hands,  it  is 
never  with  a  sweet  relish  in  your  mouth,  as  though  you  died 
by  a  frying-pan-doctor ;  but  your  last  breath  villainously 
savorl%f  ipecac  and  rhubarb.  Then,  what  charges  they 
make  for  the  abominable  lunches  they  serve  out  so  stingily  ! 
One  of  their  bills  for  boluses  would  keep  you  in  good  dinners 
a  twelvemonth. 

Now,  our  doctor  was  a  serious  old  fellow,  much  given  to 
metaphysics,  and  used  to  talk  about  original  sin.  All  that 
Sunday  morning,  he  sat  over  his  boiling  pots,  reading  out  of 
a  book  which  was  very  much  soiled  and  covered  with  grease 
spots  :  for  he  kept  it  stuck  into  a  little  leather  strap,  nailed 
to  the  keg  where  he  kept  the  fat  skimmed  off  the  water  in 
which  the  salt  beef  was  cooked.  I  could  hardly  believe  my 
eyes  when  I  found  this  book  was  the  Bible. 

I  loved  to  peep  in  upon  him,  when  he  was  thus  absorbed ; 
for  his  smoky  studio  or  study  was  a  strange-looking  place 
enough  ;  not  more  than  five  feet  square,  and  about  as  many 
high  ;  a  mere  box  to  hold  the  stove,  the  pipe  of  which  stuck 
out  of  the  roof. 

Within,  it  was  hung  round  with  pots  and  pans ;  and  on  one 
side  was  a  little  looking-glass,  where  he  used  to  shave ;  and  on 
a  small  shelf  were  his  shaving  tools,  and  a  comb  and  brush. 


HIS   FIRST   VOYAGE.  109 

Fronting  the  stove,  and  very  close  to  it,  was  a  sort  of  narrow 
shelf,  where  he  used  to  sit  with  his  legs  spread  out  very 
wide,  to  keep  them  from  scorching  ;  and  there,  with  his 
book  in  one  hand,  and  a  pewter  spoon  in  the  other,  he  sat 
all  that  Sunday  morning,  stirring  up  his  pots,  and  studying 
away  at  the  same  time  ;  seldom  taking  his  eye  off  the  page. 
Reading  must  have  been  very  hard  work  for  him ;  for  he 
muttered  to  himself  quite  loud  as  he  read  ;  and  big  drops 
of  sweat  would  stand  upon  his  brow,  and  roll  off,  till  they 
hissed  on  the  hot  stove  before  him. 

But  on  the  day  I  speak  of,  it  was  no  wonder  that  he  got 
perplexed,  for  he  was  reading  a  mysterious  passage  in  the 
Book  of  Chronicles.  Being  aware  that  I  knew  how  to  read, 
he  called  rne  as  I  was  passing  his  premises,  and  read  the 
passage  over,  demanding  an  explanation.  I  told  him  it  was 
a  mystery  that  no  one  could  explain ;  not  even  a  parson. 
But  this  did  not  satisfy  him,  and  I  left  him  poring  over  it 
still. 

He  must  have  been  a  member  of  one  of  those  negro 
churches,  which  are  to  be  found  in  New  York.  For  when 
we  lay  at  the  wharf,  I  remembered  that  a  committee  of 
three  reverend  looking  old  darkies,  who,  besides  their  natural 
canonicals,  wore  quaker-cut  black  coats,  and  broad-brimmed 
black  hats,  and  white  neck-cloths  ;  these  colored  gentlemen 
called  upon  him,  and  remained  conversing  with  him  at  his 
cook-house  door  for  more  than  an  hour  ;  and  before  they 
went  away  they  stepped  inside,  and  the  sliding  doors  were 
closed  ;  and  then  we  heard  some  one  reading  aloud  and 
preaching ;  and  after  that  a  psalm  was  sung  and  a  benedic 
tion  given ;  when  the  door  opened  again,  and  the  congrega 
tion  came  out  in  a  great  perspiration  ;  owing,  I  suppose,  to 
the  chapel  being  so  small,  and  there  being  only  one  seat 
besides  the  stove. 

But  notwithstanding  his  religious  studies  and  meditations, 
this  old  fellow  used  to  use  some  bad  language  occasionally  ; 
particularly  of  cold,  wet,  stormy  mornings,  when  he  had  to 


110  REDBURN: 


get  up  before  daylight  and  make  his  fire ;  with  the  sea 
breaking  over  the  bows,  and  now  and  then  dashing  into  his 
stove. 

So,  under  the  circumstances,  you  could  not  blame  him 
much,  if  he  did  rip  a  little,  for  it  would  have  tried  old  Job's 
temper,  to  be  set  to  work  making  a  fire  in  the  water. 

Without  being  at  all  neat  about  his  premises,  this  old 
cook  was  very  particular  about  them ;  he  had  a  warm  love 
and  affection  for  his  cook-house.  In  fair  weather,  he  spread 
the  skirt  of  an  old  jacket  before  the  door,  by  way  of  a  mat; 
and  screwed  a  small  ring-bolt  into  the  door  for  a  knocker ; 
and  wrote  his  name,  "  Mr.  Thompson,"  over  it,  with  a  bit 
of  red  chalk. 

The  men  said  he  lived  round  the  corner  of  Forecastle- 
square,  opposite  the  Liberty  Pole;  because  his  cook-house 
was  right  behind  the  foremast,  and  very  near  the  quarters 
occupied  by  themselves. 

Sailors  have  a  great  fancy  for  naming  things  that  way  on 
shipboard.  When  a  man  is  hung  at  sea,  which  is  always 
done  from  one  of  the  lower  yard-arms,  they  say  he  "  takes  a 
walk  up  Ladder-lane,  and  down  Hemp-street." 

Mr.  Thompson  was  a  great  crony  of  the  steward's,  who, 
being  a  handsome,  dandy  mulatto,  that  had  once  been  a 
barber  in  West-Broadway,  went  by  the  name  of  Lavender. 
I  have  mentioned  the  gorgeous  turban  he  wore  when  Mr. 
Jones  and  I  visited  the  captain  in  the  cabin.  He  never 
wore  that  turban  at  sea,  though  ;  but  sported  an  uncommon 
head  of  frizzled  hair,  just  like  the  large,  round  brush,  used 
for  washing  windows,  called  a  Pope's  Head. 

He  kept  it  well  perfumed  with  Cologne  water,  of  which 
he  had  a  large  supply,  the  relics  of  his  West-Broadway 
stock  in  trade.  His  clothes,  being  mostly  cast-off  suits  of  the 
captain  of  a  London  liner,  whom  he  had  sailed  with  upon 
many  previous  voyages,  were  all  in  the  height  of  the  explod 
ed  fashions,  and  of  every  kind  of  color  and  cut.  He  had 
claret-colored  suits,  and  snuff-colored  suits,  and  red  velvet 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  Ill 

vests,  and  buff  and  brimstone  pantaloons,  and  several  full 
suits  of  black,  which,  with  his  dark-colored  face,  made  him 
look  quite  clerical ;  like  a  serious  young  colored  gentleman  of 
BarbadoeSj  Sbout  to  take  orders. 

He  wore  an  uncommon  large  pursy  ring  on  his  fore-finger, 
with  something  he  called  a  real  diamond  in  it ;  though  it 
was  very  dim,  and  looked  more  like  a  glass  eye  than  any 
thing  else.  He  was  very  proud  of  his  ring,  and  was  always 
calling  your  attention  to  something,  and  pointing  at  it  with 
his  ornamented  finger. 

He  was  a  sentimental  sort  of  a  darky,  and  read  the  "  Three 
Spaniards"  and  "  Charlotte  Temple"  and  carried  a  lock 
of  frizzled  hair  in  his  vest  pocket,  which  he  frequently 
volunteered  to  show  to  people,  with  his  handkerchief  to  his 
eyes. 

Every  fine  evening,  about  sunset,  these  two,  the  cook  and 
steward,  used  to  sit  on  the  little  shelf  in  the  cook-house, 
leaning  up  against  each  other  like  the  Siamese  twins,  to 
keep  from  falling  off,  for  the  shelf  was  very  short ;  and  there 
they  would  stay  till  after  dark,  smoking  their  pipes,  and  gos 
siping  about  the  events  that  had  happened  during  the  day  in 
the  cabin. 

And  sometimes  Mr.  Thompson  would  take  down  his 
Bible,  and  read  a  chapter  for  the  edification  of  Lavender, 
whom  he  knew  to  be  a  sad  profligate  and  gay  deceiver  ashore ; 
addicted  to  every  youthful  indiscretion.  He  would  read  over 
to  him  the  story  of  Joseph  and  Potiphar's  wife ;  and  hold 
Joseph  up  to  him  as  a  young  man  of  excellent  principles, 
whom  he  ought  to  imitate,  and  not  be  guilty  of  his  indiscre 
tion  any  more.  And  Lavender  would  look  serious,  and  say 
that  he  knew  it  was  all  true — he  was  a  wicked  youth,  he 
knew  it — he  had  broken  a  good  many  hearts,  and  many  eyes 
were  weeping  for  him  even  then,  both  in  New  York,  and 
Liverpool,  and  London,  and  Havre.  But  how  could  he  help 
it  ?  He  hadn't  made  his  handsome  face,  and  fine  head  of 
hair,  and  graceful  figure.  It  was  not  he,  but  the  others, 


112  RED  BURN: 


that  were  to  blame  ;  for  his  bewitching  person  turned  all 
heads  and  subdued  all  hearts,  wherever  he  went.  And  then 
he  would  look  very  serious  and  penitent,  and  go  up  to  the 
little  glass,  and  pass  his  hands  through  his  hair  *and  see  how 
his  whiskers  were  coming  on. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

HE    ENDEAVORS    TO    IMPROVE    HIS    MIND  J    AND   TELLS    OF    ONE 
BLUNT  AND  HIS  DREAM-BOOK. 

ON  the  Sunday  afternoon  I  spoke  of,  it  was  my  watch 
below,  and  I  thought  I  would  spend  it  profitably,  in  improv 
ing  my  mind. 

^  My  bunk  was  an  upper  one  ;  and  right  over  the  head  of 
it  was  a  bull's-eye,  or  circular  piece  of  thick  ground  glass, 
inserted  into  the  deck  to  give  light.  It  was  a  dull,  dubious 
light,  though  ;  and  I  often  found  myself  looking  up  anxiously 
to  see  whether  the  bull's  eye  had  not  suddenly  been  put  out ; 
for  whenever  any  one  trod  on  it,  in  walking  the  deck,  it  was 
momentarily  quenched ;  and  what  was  still  worse,  sometimes 
a  coil  of  rope  would  be  thrown  down  on  it,  and  stay  there 
till  I  dressed  myself  and  went  up  to  remove  it — a  kind  of 
interruption  to  my  studies  which  annoyed  me  very  much, 
when  diligently  occupied  in  reading. 

However,  I  was  glad  of  any  light  at  all,  down  in  that 
gloomy  hole,  where  we  burrowed  like  rabbits  in  a  warren  ; 
and  it  was  the  happiest  time  I  had,  when  all  my  messmates 
were  asleep,  and  I  could  lie  on  my  back,  during  a  forenoon 
watch  below,  and  read  in  comparative  quiet  and  seclusion. 

I  had  already  read  two  books  loaned  to  me  by  Max,  to 
whose  share  they  had  fallen,  in  dividing  the  effects  of  the 
sailor  who  had  jumped  overboard.  One  was  an  account  of 
Shipwrecks  and  Disasters  at  Sea,  and  the  other  was  a  large 
black  volume,  with  Delirium  Tremens  in  great  gilt  letters 
on  the  back.  This  proved  to  be  a  popular  treatise  on  the 
subject  of  that  disease ;  and  I  remembered  seeing  several 


114  REDBURN: 


copies  in  the  sailor  book-stalls  about  Fulton  Market,  and 
along  South-street,  in  New  York. 

But  this  Sunday  I  got  out  a  book,  from  which  I  expected 
to  reap  great  profit  and  sound  instruction.  It  had  been  pre 
sented  to  me  by  Mr.  Jones,  who  had*  quite  a  library,  and 
took  down  this  book  from  a  top  shelf,  where  it  lay  very 
dusty.  When  he  gave  it  to  me,  he  said,  that  although  I 
was  going  to  sea,  I  must  not  forget  the  importance  of  a  good 
education  ;  and  that  there  was  hardly  any  situation  in  life, 
however  humble  and  depressed,  or  dark  and  gloomy,  but  one 
might  find  leisure  in  it  to  store  his  mind,  and  build  himself 
up  in  the  exact  sciences.  And  he  added,  that  though  it  did 
look  rather  unfavorable  for  my  future  prospects,  to  be  going 
to  sea  as  a  common  sailor  so  early  in  life  ;  yet,  it  would  no 
doubt  turn  out  for  my  benefit  in  the  end  ;  and,  at  any  rate, 
if  I  would  only  take  good  care  of  myself,  would  give  me  a 
sound  constitution,  if  nothing  more  ;  and  that  was  not  to  be 
undervalued,  for  how  many  very  rich  men  would  give  all 
their  bonds  and  mortgages  for  my  boyish  robustness. 

He  added,  that  I  need  not  expect  any  light,  trivial  work, 
that  was  merely  entertaining,  and  nothing  more  ;  but  here  I 
would  find  entertainment  and  edification  beautifully  and  har 
moniously  combined  ;  and  though,  at  first,  I  might  possibly 
find  it  dull,  yet;  if  I  perused  the  book  thoroughly,  it  would 
soon  discover  hidden  charms  and  unforeseen  attractions  ;  be 
sides  teaching  me,  perhaps,  the  true  way  to  retrieve  the 
poverty  of  my  family,  and  again  make  them  all  well  to  do 
in  the  world. 

Saying  this,  he  handed  it  to  me,  and  I  blew  the  dust  ofF,  and 
looked  at  the  back  :  "  Smith's  Wealth  of  Nations."  This 
not  satisfying  me,  I  glanced  at  the  title  page,  and  found  it  was 
an  "  Enquiry  into  the  Nature  and  Causes"  of  the  alleged 
wealth  of  nations.  But  happening  to  look  further  down,  I 
caught  sight  of  "  Aberdeen"  where  the  book  was  printed ; 
and  thinking  that  any  thing  from  Scotland,  a  foreign  coun 
try,  must  prove  some  way  or  other  pleasing  to  me,  I  thanked 


HIS   FIRST   VOYAGE.  115 

Mr.  Jones  very  kindly,  and  promised  to  peruse  the  volume 
carefully. 

So,  now,  lying  in  my  brink,  I  began  the  book  method 
ically,  at  page  number  one,  resolved  not  to  permit  a  few 
flying  glimpses  into  it,  taken  previously,  to  prevent  me  from 
making  regular  approaches  to  the  gist  and  body. of  the  book, 
where  I  fancied  lay  something  like  the  philosopher's  stone,  a 
secret  talisman,  which  would  transmute  even  pitch  and  tar 
to  silver  and  gold. 

Pleasant,  though  vague  visions  of  future  opulence  floated 
before  me,  as  I  commenced  the  first  chapter,  entitled  "  Of 
the  causes  of  improvement  in  the  productive  power  of  labor  " 
Dry  as  crackers  and  cheese,  to  be  sure  ;  and  the  chapter  itself 
was  not  much  better.  But  this  was  only  getting  initiated  ; 
and  if  I  read  on,  the  grand  secret  would  be  opened  to  me.  So 
I  read  on  and  on,  about  "  wages  and  profits  of  labor"  with 
out  getting  any  profits  myself  for  my  pains  in  perusing  it. 

Dryer  and  dryer  ;  the  very  leaves  smelt  of  saw-dust ;  till 
at  last  I  drank  some  water,  and  went  at  it  again.  But  soon 
I  had  to  give  it  up  for  lost  work  ;  and  thought  that  the  old 
backgammon  board,  we  had  at  home,  lettered  on  the  back, 
"  The  History  of  Rome"  was  quite  as  full  of  matter,  and 
a  great  deal  more  entertaining.  I  wondered  whether  Mr. 
Jones  had  ever  read  the  volume  himself ;  and  could  not  help 
remembering,  that  he  had  to  get  on  a  chair  when  he  reached 
it  down  from  its  dusty  shelf ;  that  certainly  looked  suspicious. 

The  best  reading  was  on  the  fly  leaves  ;  and,  on  turning 
them  over,  I  lighted  upon  some  half  effaced  pencil-marks  to 
the  following  effect :  "  Jonathan  Jones,  from  his  particular 
friend  Daniel  Dods,  1798."  So  it  must  have  originally 
belonged  to  Mr.  Jones'  father ;  and  I  wondered  whether  he 
had  ever  read  it  ;  or,  indeed,  whether  any  body  had  ever 
read  it,  even  the  author  himself;  but  then  authors,  they 
say,  never  read  their  own  books ;  writing  them,  being  enough 
in  all  conscience. 

At  length  I  fell  asleep,  with  the  volume  in  my  hand  ;  and 


116  REDBURN 


never  slept  so  sound  before  ;  after  that,  I  used  to  wrap  ray 
jacket  round  it,  and  use  it  for  a  pillow ;  for  which  purpose 
it  answered  very  well ;  only  I  sometimes  waked  up  feeling 
dull  and  stupid  ;  but  of  course  the  book  could  not  have  been 
the  cause  of  that. 

And  now  I  am  talking  of  books,  I  must  tell  of  Jack  Blunt 
the  sailor,  and  his  Dream  Book. 

Jackson,  who  seemed  to  know  every  thing  about  all  parts 
of  the  world,  used  to  tell  Jack  in  reproach,  that  he  was  an 
Irish  Cockney.  By  which  I  understood,  that  he  was  an 
Irishman  born,  but  had  graduated  in  London,  somewhere 
about  RadclifFe  Highway  ;  but  he  had  no  sort  of  brogue 
that  I  could  hear. 

He  was  a  curious  looking  fellow,  about  twenty-five  years 
old,  as  I  should  judge ;  but  to  look  at  his  back,  you  would 
have  taken  him  for  a  little  old  man.  His  arms  and  legs  were 
very  large,  round,  short,  and  stumpy ;  so  that  when  he  had 
on  his  great  monkey-jacket,  and  sou' west  cap  napping  in 
his  face,  and  his  sea  boots  drawn  up  to  his  knees,  he  looked 
like  a  fat  porpoise,  standing  on  end.  He  had  a  round  face, 
too,  like  a  walrus ;  and  with  about  the  same  expression,  half 
human  and  half  indescribable.  He  was,  upon  the  whole,  a 
good-natured  fellow,  and  a  little  given  to  looking  at  sea-life 
romantically  ;  singing  songs  about  susceptible  mermaids  who 
fell  in  love  with  handsome  young  oyster  boys  and  gallant 
fishermen.  And  he  had  a  sad  story  about  a  man-of-war's- 
man  who  broke  his  heart  at  Portsmouth  during  the  late 
war,  and  threw  away  his  life  recklessly  at  one  of  the  quar 
ter-deck  caronades,  in  the  battle  between  the  Guerriere  and 
Constitution  ;  and  another  incomprehensible  story  about  a 
sort  of  fairy  sea-queen,  who  used  to  be  dunning  a  sea-captain 
all  the  time  for  his  autograph  to  boil  in  some  eel  soup,  for  a 
spell  against  the  scurvy. 

He  believed  in  all  kinds  of  witch-work  and  magic  ;  and  had 
some  wild  Irish  words  he  used  to  mutter  over  during  a  calm 
for  a  fair  wind. 


HIS   FIRST   VOYAGE.  117 

And  he  frequently  related  his  interviews  in  Liverpool  with 
a  fortune-teller,  an  old  negro  woman  by  the  name  of  De 
Squak,  whose  house  was  much  frequented  by  sailors  ;  and 
how  she  had  two  black  cats,  with  remarkably  green  eyes,  and 
nightcaps  on  their  heads,  solemnly  seated  on  a  claw-footed 
table  near  the  old  goblin  ;  when  she  felt  his  pulse,  to  tell  what 
was  going  to  befall  him. 

This  Blunt  had  a  large  head  of  hair,  very  thick  and 
bushy  ;  but  from  some  cause  or  other,  it  was  rapidly  turn 
ing  gray  ;  and  in  its  transition  state  made  him  look  as  if 
he  wore  a  shako  of  badger  skin. 

The  phenomenon  of  gray  hairs  on  a  young  head,  had  per 
plexed  and  confounded  this  Blunt  to  such  a  degree  that  he 
at  last  came  to  the  conclusion  it  must  be  the  result  of  the 
black  art,  wrought  upon  him  by  an  enemy  ;  and  that  ene 
my,  he  opined,  was  an  old  sailor  landlord  in  Marseilles,  whom 
he  had  once  seriously  offended,  by  knocking  him  down  in 
a  fray. 

So  while  in  New  York,  finding  his  hair  growing  grayer 
and  grayer,  and  all  his  friends,  the  ladies  and  others,  laugh 
ing  at  him,  and  calling  him  an  old  man  with  one  foot  in 
the  grave,  he  slipt  out  one  night  to  an  apothecary's,  stated 
his  case,  and  wanted  to  know  what  could  be  done  for  him. 

The  apothecary  immediately  gave  him  a  pint  bottle  of 
something  he  called  "  Trafalgar  Oil  for  restoring  the  hair," 
price  one  dollar  ;  and  told  him  that  after  he  had  used  that 
bottle,  and  it  did  not  have  the  desired  effect,  he  must  try 
bottle  No.  2,  called  "  Balm  of  Paradise,  or  the  Elixir  of 
the  Battle  of  Copenhagen."  These  high-sounding  naval 
names  delighted  Blunt,  and  he  had  no  doubt  there  must  be 
virtue  in  them. 

I  saw  both  bottles  ;  and  on  one  of  them  was  an  engrav 
ing,  representing  a  young  man,  presumed  to  be  gray-headed, 
standing  in  his  night-dress  in  the  middle  of  his  chamber, 
and  with  closed  eyes  applying  the  Elixir  to  his  head,  with 
both  hands ;  while  an  the  bed  adjacent  stood  a  large  bottle, 


113  RED  BURN: 


conspicuously  labeled,  "  Balm  of  Paradise."  It  seemed 
from  the  text,  that  this  gray-headed  young  rnan  was  so  smit 
ten  with  his  hair-oil,  and  was  so  thoroughly  persuaded  of 
its  virtues,  that  he  had  got  out  of  bed,  even  in  his  sleep  ; 
groped  into  his  closet,  seized  the  precious  bottle,  applied  its 
contents,  and  then  to  bed  again,  getting  up  in  the  morn 
ing  without  knowing  any  thing  about  it.  Which,  indeed, 
was  a  most  mysterious  occurrence  ;  and  it  was  still  more 
mysterious,  how  the  engraver  came  to  know  an  event,  of 
which  the  actor  himself  was  ignorant,  and  where  there  were 
no  bystanders. 

Three  times  in  the  twenty-four  hours,  Blunt,  while  at 
sea,  regularly  rubbed  in  his  liniments  ;  but  though  the  first 
bottle  was  soon  exhausted  by  his  copious  applications,  and 
the  second  half  gone,  he  still  stuck  to  it,  that  by  the  time 
we  got  to  Liverpool,  his  exertions  would  be  crowned  with 
success.  And  he  was  not  a  little  delighted,  that  this  gradual 
change  would  be  operating  while  we  were  at  sea  ;  so  as  not 
to  expose  him  to  the  invidious  observations  of  people  ashore  ; 
on  the  same  principle  that  dandies  go  into  the  country  when 
they  purpose  raising  whiskers.  He  would  often  ask  his  ship 
mates,  whether  they  noticed  any  change  yet ;  and  if  so,  how 
much  of  a  change?  And  to  tell  the  truth,  there  was  a 
very  great  change  indeed ;  for  the  constant  soaking  of  his 
hair  with  oil,  operating  in  conjunction  with  the  neglect  of 
his  toilet,  and  want  of  a  brush  and  comb,  had  matted  his 
locks  together  like  a  wild  horse's  mane,  and  imparted  to  it 
a  blackish  and  extremely  glossy  hue. 

Besides  his  collection  of  hair-oils,  Blunt  had  also  provided 
himself  with  several  boxes  of  pills,  which  he  had  purchased 
from  a  sailor  doctor  in  New  York,  who  by  placards  stuck  on 
the  posts  along  the  wharves,  advertised  to  remain  standing 
at  the  northeast  corner  of  Catharine  Market,  every  Monday 
and  Friday,  between  the  hours  of  ten  and  twelve  in  the 
morning,  to  receive  calls  from  patients,  distribute  medicines, 
and  give  advice  gratis. 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  119 

Whether  Blunt  thought  he  had  the  dyspepsia  or  not,  I 
can  not  say  ;  but  at  breakfast,  he  always  took  three  pills 
with  his  coffee  ;  something  as  they  do  in  Iowa,  when  the 
bilious  fever  prevails  ;  where,  at  the  boarding-houses,  they 
put  a  vial  of  blue  pills  into  the  castor,  along  with  the  pepper 
and  mustard,  and  next  door  to  another  viat  of  toothpicks. 
But  they  are  very  ill-bred  and  unpolished  in  the  western 
country. 

Several  times,  too,  Blunt  treated  himself  to  a  flowing 
bumper  of  horse  salts  (Glauber  salts) ;  for  like  many  other 
seamen,  he  never  went  to  sea  without  a  good  supply  of  that 
luxury.  He  would  frequently,  also,  take  this  medicine  in  a 
wet  jacket,  and  then  go  on  deck  into  a  rain  storm.  But 
this  is  nothing  to  other  sailors,  who  at  sea  will  doctor  them 
selves  with  calomel  off  Cape  Horn,  and  still  remain  on  duty. 
And  in  this  connection,  some  really  frightful  stories  might 
be  told  ;  but  I  forbear. 

For  a  landsman  to  take  salts  as  this  Blunt  did,  it  would 
perhaps  be  the  death  of  him  ;  but  at  sea  the  salt  air  arid 
the  salt  water  prevent  you  from  catching  cold  so  readily  as 
on  land  ;  and  for  my  own  part,  on  board  this  very  ship, 
being  so  illy-provided  with  clothes,  I  frequently  turned  into 
my  bunk  soaking  wet,  and  turned  out  again  piping  hot,  and 
smoking  like  a  roasted  sirloin  ;  and  yet  was  never  the  worse 
for  it ;  for  then,  I  bore  a  charmed  life  of  youth  and  health, 
and  was  dagger-proof  to  bodily  ill. 

But  it  is  time  to  tell  of  the  Dream  Book.  Snugly  hidden 
in  one  corner  of  his  chest,  Blunt  had  an  extraordinary  looking 
pamphlet,  with  a  red  cover,  marked  all  over  with  astrological 
signs  and  ciphers,  and  purporting  to  be  a  full  and  complete 
treatise  on  the  art  of  Divination  ;  so  that  the  most  simple 
sailor  could  teach  it  to  himself. 

It  also  purported  to  be  the  selfsame  system,  by  aid  of 
which  Napoleon  Bonaparte  had  risen  in  the  world  from 
being  a  corporal  to  an  emperor.  Hence  it  was  entitled  the 
Bonaparte  Dream  Book ;  for  the  magic  of  it  lay  in  the 


120  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


interpretation  of  dreams,  and  their  application  to  the  fore 
seeing  of  future  events  ;  so  that  all  preparatory  measures 
might  be  taken  beforehand  ;  which  would  be  exceedingly 
convenient,  and  satisfactory  every  way,  if  true.  The 
problems  were  to  be  cast  by  means  of  figures,  in  some 
perplexed  and  difficult  way,  which,  however,  was  facilitated 
by  a  set  of  tables  in  the  end  of  the  pamphlet,  something 
like  the  Logarithm  Tables  at  the  end  of  Bowditch's  Nav 
igator. 

Now,  Blunt  revered,  adored,  and  worshiped  this  Bona 
parte  Dream  Book  of  his  ;  and  was  fully  persuaded  that 
between  those  red  covers,  and  in  his  own  dreams,  lay  all  the 
secrets  of  futurity.  Every  morning  before  taking  his  pills, 
and  applying  his  hair-oils,  he  would  steal  out  of  his  bunk 
before  the  rest  of  the  watch  were  awake ;  take  out  his 
pamphlet,  and  a  bit  of  chalk ;  and  then  straddling  his  chest, 
begin  scratching  his  oily  head  to  remember  his  fugitive 
dreams ;  marking  down  strokes  on  his  chest-lid,  as  if  he  were 
casting  up  his  daily  accounts. 

Though  often  perplexed  and  lost  in  mazes  concerning  the 
cabalistic  figures  in  the  book,  and  the  chapter  of  directions 
to  beginners ;  for  he  could  with  difficulty  read  at  all ;  yet, 
in  the  end,  if  not  interrupted,  he  somehow  managed  to 
arrive  at  a  conclusion  satisfactory  to  him.  So  that,  as  he 
generally  wore  a  good-humored  expression,  no  doubt  he  must 
have  thought,  that  all  his  future  affairs  were  working  together 
for  the  best. 

But  one  night  he  started  us  all  up  in  a  fright,  by  springing 
from  his  bunk,  his  eyes  ready  to  start  out  of  his  head,  and 
crying,  in  a  husky  voice — "  Boys  !  boys  !  get  the  benches 
ready  !  Quick,  quick  !" 

"  What  benches  ?"  growled  Max — "  What's  the  matter  ?" 

11  Benches  !  benches  !"  screamed  Blunt,  without  heeding 
him,  "  cut  down  the  forests,  bear  a  hand,  boys  ;  the  Day  of 
Judgment's  coming  !" 

But  the  next  moment,  he  got  quietly  into  his  bunk,  and 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  521 

laid  still,  muttering  to  himself,  he  had  only  been  rambling  in 
his  sleep. 

I  did  not  know  exactly  what  he  had  meant  by  his 
benches;  till,  shortly  after,  I  overheard  two  of  the  sailors 
debating,  whether  mankind  would  stand  or  sit  at  the  Last 
Day. 

F 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

A    NARROW    ESCAPE. 

THIS  Dream  Book  of  Blunt's  reminds  me  of  a  narrow 
escape  we  had,  early  one  morning. 

It  was  the  larboard  watch's  turn  to  remain  below  from 
midnight  till  four  o'clock  ;  and  having  turned  in  and  slept, 
Blunt  suddenly  turned  out  again  about  three  o'clock,  with  a 
wonderful  dream  in  his  head  ;  which  he  was  desirous  of  at 
once  having  interpreted. 

So  he  goes  to  his  chest,  gets  out  his  tools,  and  falls  to 
ciphering  on  the  lid.  When,  all  at  once,  a  terrible  cry  was 
heard,  that  routed  him  and  all  the  rest  of  us  up,  and  sent 
the  whole  ship's  company  flying  on  deck  in  the  dark.  We 
did  not  know  what  it  was  ;  but  somehow,  among  sailors  at 
sea,  they  seem  to  know  when  real  danger  of  any  kind  is  at 
hand,  even  in  their  sleep. 

When  we  got  on  deck,  we  saw  the  mate  standing  on  the 
bowsprit,  and  crying  out  Luff !  Luff !  to  some  one  in  the 
dark  water  before  the  ship.  In  that  direction,  we  could 
just  see  a  light,  and  then,  the  great  black  hull  of  a  strange 
vessel,  that  was  coming  down  on  us  obliquely ;  and  so  near, 
that  we  heard  the  flap  of  her  topsails  as  they  shook  in  the 
wind,  the  trampling  of  feet  on  the  deck,  and  the  same  cry 
of  Luff !  Luff !  that  our  own  mate  was  raising. 

In  a  minute  more,  I  caught  my  breath,  as  I  heard  a 
snap  and  a  crash,  like  the  fall  of  a  tree,  and  suddenly,  one 
of  our  flying-jib  guys  jerked  out  the  bolt  near  the  cat-head  ; 
and  presently,  we  heard  our  jib-boom  thumping  against  our 
bows. 

Meantime,  the  strange  ship,  scraping  by  us  thus,  shot  off 


HIS   FIRST   VOYAGE.  123 

into  the  darkness,  and  we  saw  her  no  more.  But  she,  also, 
must  have  been  injured  ;  for  when  it  grew  light,  we  found 
pieces  of  strange  rigging  mixed  with  ours.  We  repaired 
the  damage,  and  replaced  the  broken  spar  with  another  jib- 
boom  we  had ;  for  all  ships  carry  spare  spars  against 
emergencies. 

The  cause  of  this  accident,  which  came  near  being-  the 
death  of  all  on  board,  was  nothing  but  the  drowsiness  of  the 
look-out  men  on  the  forecastles  of  both  ships.  The  sailor 
who  had  the  look-out  on  our  vessel  was  terribly  reprimanded 
by  the  mate.  ;» V  * 

No  doubt,  many  ships  that  are  never  heard  of  after  leaving 
port,  meet  their  fate  in  this  way ;  and  it  may  be,  that 
sometimes  two  vessels  coming  together,  jib-boom- and-jib- 
boom,  with  a  sudden  shock  in  the  middle  watch  of  the 
night,  mutually  destroy  each  other ;  and  like  fighting  elks, 
sink  down  into  the  ocean,  with  their  antlers  locked  in 
death. 

While  I  was  at  Liverpool,  a  fine  ship  that  lay  near  us  in 
the  docks,  having  got  her  cargo  on  board,  went  to  sea, 
bound  for  India,  with  a  good  breeze  ;  and  all  her  crew  felt 
sure  of  a  prosperous  voyage.  But  in  about  seven  days  after, 
she  came  back,  a  most  distressing  object  to  behold.  All  her 
starboard  side  was  torn  and  splintered  ;  her  starboard  anchor 
was  gone  ;  and  a  great  part  of  the  starboard  bulwarks  ; 
while  every  one  of  the  lower  yard-arms  had  been  broken,  in 
the  same  direction  ;  so  that  she  now  carried  small  and  un 
sightly  jury-yards. 

When  I  looked  at  this  vessel,  with  the  whole  of  one  side 
thus  shattered,  but  the  other  still  in  fine  trim  ;  and  when  I 
remembered  her  gay  and  gallant  appearance,  when  she  left 
the  same  harbor  into  which  she  now  entered  so  forlorn ;  I 
could  not  help  thinking  of  a  young  man  I  had  known  at 
home,  who  had  left  his  cottage  one  morning  in  high  spirits, 
and  was  brought  back  at  noon  with  his  right  side  paralyzed 
from  head  to  foot. 


124  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


It  seems  that  this  vessel  had  been  run  against  by  a  strange 
ship,  crowding  all  sail  before  a  fresh  breeze  ;  and  the  stran 
ger  had  rushed  past  her  starboard  side,  reducing  her  to  the 
sad  state  in  which  she  now  was. 

Sailors  can  not  be  too  wakeful  and  cautious,  when  keep 
ing  their  night  look-outs  ;  though,  as  I  well  know,  they  too 
often  suffer  themselves  to  become  negligent,  and  nod.  And 
this  is  not  so  wonderful,  after  all  ;  for  though  every  seaman 
has  heard  of  those  accidents  at  sea  ;  and  many  of  them, 
perhaps,  have  been  in  ships  that  have  suffered  from  them  ; 
yet,  when  you  find  yourself  sailing  along  on  the  ocean  at 
night,  without  having  seen  a  sail  for  weeks  and  weeks,  it  is 
hard  for  you  to  realize  that  any  are  near.  Then,  if  they 
are  near,  it  seems  almost  incredible  that  on  the  broad,  bound 
less  sea,  which  washes  Greenland  at  one  end  of  the  world, 
and  the  Falkland  Islands  at  the  other,  that  any  one  vessel 
upon  such  a  vast  highway,  should  come  into  close  contact 
with  another.  But  the  likelihood  of  great  calamities  occur 
ring,  seldom  obtrudes  upon  the  minds  of  ignorant  men,  such 
as  sailors  generally  are  ;  for  the  things  which  wise  people 
know,  anticipate,  and  guard  against,  the  ignorant  can  only 
become  acquainted  with,  by  meeting  them  face  to  face.  And 
^even  when  experience  has  taught  them,  the  lesson  only  serves 
for  that  day  ;  inasmuch  as  the  foolish  in  prosperity  are  infidels 
to  the  possibility  of  adversity ;  they  see  the  sun  in  heaven,  and 
believe  it  to  be  far  too  bright  ever  to  set. 

And  even,  as  suddenly  as  the  bravest  and  fleetest  ships, 
while  careering  in  pride  of  canvas  over  the  sea,  have  been 
struck,  as  by  lightning,  and  quenched  out  of  sight ;  even  so, 
do  some  lordly  men,  with  all  their  plans  and  prospects  gal 
lantly  trimmed  to  the  fair,  rushing  breeze  of  life,  and  with 
no  thought  of  death  and  disaster,  suddenly  encounter  a 
shock  unforeseen,  and  go  down,  foundering,  into  death. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

IN  A  FOG  HE  IS  SET  TO  WORK  AS  A  BELL-TOLLER,  AND  BEHOLDS 
A  HERD  OF  OCEAN-ELEPHANTS. 

WHAT  is  this  that  we  sail  through  ?  What  palpable 
obscure  ?  What  smoke  and  reek,  as  if  the  whole  steaming 
world  were  revolving  on  its  axis,  as  a  spit  ? 

It  is  a  Newfoundland  Fog ;  and  we  are  yet  crossing  the 
Grand  Banks,  wrapt  in  a  mist,  that  no  London  in  the  No- 
vemberest  November  ever  equaled.  The  chronometer  pro 
nounced  it  noon  ;  but  do  you  call  this  midnight  or  mid-day  ? 
So  dense  is  the  fog,  that  though  we  have  a  fair  wind,  we 
shorten  sail  for  fear  of  accidents  ;  and  not  only  that,  but 
here  am  I,  poor  Wellingborough,  mounted  aloft  on  a  sort  of 
belfry,  the  top  of  the  "  Sampson- Post"  a  lofty  tower  of 
timber,  so  called  ;  and  tolling  the  ship's  bell,  as  if  for  a 
funeral. 

This  is  intended  to  proclaim  our  approach,  and  warn- all 
strangers  from  our  track. 

Dreary  sound  !  toll,  toll,  toll,  through  the  dismal  mist 
and  fog. 

The  bell  is  green  with  verdigris,  and  damp  with  dew ; 
and  the  little  cord  attached  to  the  clapper,  by  which  I  toll 
it,  now  and  then  slides  through  my  fingers,  slippery  with  wet. 
Here  I  am,  in  my  slouched  black  hat,  like  the  "  bull  that 
could  pull"  announcing  the  decease  of  the  lamented  Cock- 
Robin. 

A  better  device  than  the  bell,  however,  was  once  pitched 
upon  by  an  ingenious  sea-captain,  of  whom  I  have  heard. 
He  had  a  litter  of  young  porkers  on  board  ;  and  while  sail 
ing  through  the  fog,  he  stationed  men  at  both  ends  of  the 


126  REDBURN: 


pen  with  long  poles,  wherewith  they  incessantly  stirred  up 
and  irritated  the  porkers,  who  split  the  air  with  their 
squeals  ;  and  no  doubt  saved  the  ship,  as  the  geese  saved 
the  Capitol. 

The  most  strange  and  unheard-of  noises  came  out  of  the 
fog  at  times  :  a  vast  sound  of  sighing  and  sobbing.  What 
could  it  be  ?  This  would  be  followed  by  a  spout,  and  a 
gush,  and  a  cascading  commotion,  as  if  some  fountain  had 
suddenly  jetted  out  of  the  ocean. 

Seated  on  my  Sampson-Post,  I  stared  more  and  more, 
and  suspended  my  duty  as  a  sexton.  But  presently  some 
one  cried  out — "  There  she  blows  !  whales  !  ivlmles  close 
alongside  /" 

A  whale  !  Think  of  it  !  whales  close  to  me,  Welling- 
borough  ; — would  my  own  brother  believe  it  ?  I  dropt  the 
clapper  as  if  it  were  red-hot,  and  rushed  to  the  side  ;  and 
there,  dimly  floating,  lay  four  or  five  long,  black  snaky-look 
ing  shapes,  only  a  few  inches  out  of  the  water. 

Can  these  be  whales  ?  '  Monstrous  whales,  such  as  I  had 
heard  of?  I  thought  they  would  look  like  mountains  on  the  sea ; 
hills  and  valleys  of  flesh  !  regular  krakens,  that  made  it  high 
tide,  and  inundated  continents,  when  they  descended  to  feed  ! 

It  was  a  bitter  disappointment,  from  which  I  was  long  in 
recovering.  I  lost  all  respect  for  whales  ;  arid  began  to  be 
a  little  dubious  about  the  story  of  Jonah  ;  for  how  could 
Jonah  reside  in  such  an  insignificant  tenement ;  how  could 
he  have  had  elbow-room  there  ?  But  perhaps,  thought  I, 
the  whale,  which  according  to  Rabbinical  traditions  was  a 
female  one,  might  have  expanded  to  receive  him  like  an  an 
aconda,  when  it  swallows  an  elk  and  leaves  the  antlers 
sticking  out  of  its  mouth. 

Nevertheless,  from  that  day,  whales  greatly  fell  in  my 
estimation. 

But  it  is  always  thus.  If  you  read  of  St.  Peter's,  they 
say,  and  then  go  and  visit  it,  ten  to  one,  you  account  it  a 
dwarf  compared  to  your  high-raised  ideal.  And,  doubtless, 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  127 

Jonah  himself  must  have  been  disappointed  when  he  looked 
up  to  the  domed  midriff  surmounting  the  whale's  belly, 
and  surveyed  the  ribbed  pillars  around  him.  A  pretty 
large  belly,  to  be  sure,  thought  he,  but  not  so  big  as  it 
might  have  been. 

On  the  next  day,  the  fog  lifted  ;  and  by  noon,  we  found 
ourselves  sailing  through  fleets  of  fishermen  at  anchor. 
They  were  very  small  craft ;  and  when  I  beheld  them,  I 
perceived  the  force  of  that  sailor  saying,  intended  to  illus 
trate  restricted  quarters,  or  being  on  the  limits.  It  is  like  a 
fisherman's  walk,  say  they,  three  steps  and  overboard. 

Lying  right  in  the  track  of  the  multitudinous  ships  cross 
ing  the  ocean  between  England  and  America,  these  little 
vessels  are  sometimes  run  down,  and  obliterated  from  the 
face  of  the  waters  ;  the  cry  of  the  sailors  ceasing  with  the 
last  whirl  of  the  whirlpool  that  closes  over  their  craft. 
Their  sad  fate  is  frequently  the  result  of  their  own  remiss- 
ness  in  keeping  a  good  look-out  by  day,  and  not  having  their 
lamps  trimmed,  like  the  wise  virgins,  by  night. 

As  I  shall  not  make  mention  of  the  Grand  Banks  on. 
our  homeward-bound  passage,  I  may  as  well  here  relate, 
that  on  our  return,  we  approached  them  in  the  night ;  and 
by  way  of  making  sure  of  our  whereabouts,  the  deep-sea- 
lead  was  heaved.  The  line  attached  is  generally  upward 
of  three  hundred  fathoms  in  length  ;  and  the  lead  itself, 
weighing  some  forty  or  fifty  pounds,  has  a  hole  in  the  lower 
end,  in  which,  previous  to  sounding,  some  tallow  is  thrust, 
that  it  may  bring  up  the  soil  at  the  bottom,  for  the  captain 
to  inspect.  This  is  called  "  arming"  the  lead. 

We  "  hove"  our  deep-sea-line  by  night,  and  the  operation 
was  very  interesting,  at  least  to  me.  In  the  first  place,  the 
vessel's  heading  was  stopt ;  then,  coiled  away  in  a  tub,  like 
a  whale-rope,  the  line  was  placed  toward  the  after  part  of 
the  quarter-deck  ;  and  one  of  the  sailors  carried  the  lead 
outside  of  the  ship,  away  along  to  the  end  of  the  jib-boom, 
and  at  the  word  of  command,  far  ahead  and  overboard  it 


128  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


went,  with  a  plunge ;  scraping  by  the  side,  till  it  came  to 
the  stern,  when  the  line  ran  out  of  the  tub  like  light. 

When  we  came  to  haul  it  up,  I  was  astonished  at  the 
force  necessary  to  perform  the  work.  The  whole  watch 
pulled  at  the  line,  which  was  rove  through  a  block  in  the 
mizen-rigging,  as  if  we  were  hauling  up  a  fat  porpoise. 
When  the  lead  came  in  sight,  I  was  all  eagerness  to  ex 
amine  the  tallow,  and  get  a  peep  at  a  specimen  of  the  bot 
tom  of  the  sea ;  but  the  sailors  did  not  seem  to  be  much 
interested  by  it,  calling  me  a  fool  for  wanting  to  preserve  a 
few  grains  of  the  sand. 

I  had  almost  forgotten  to  make  mention  of  the  Gulf 
Stream,  in  which  we  found  ourselves  previous  to  crossing 
the  Banks.  The  fact  of  our  being  in  it  was  proved  by  the 
captain  in  person,  who  superintended  the  drawing  of  a  bucket 
of  salt  water,  in  which  he  dipped  his  thermometer.  In  the 
absence  of  the  Gulf-weed,  this  is  the  general  test ;  for  the 
temperature  of  this  current  is  eight  degrees  higher  than  that 
of  the  ocean,  and  the  temperature  of  the  ocean  is  twenty 
degrees  higher  than  that  of  the  Grand  Banks.  And  it  is  to 
this  remarkable  difference  of  temperature,  for  which  there 
can  be  no  equilibrium,  that  many  seamen  impute  the  fogs 
on  the  coast  of  Nova  Scotia  and  Newfoundland ;  but  why 
there  should  always  be  such  ugly  weather  in  the  Gulf,  is 
something  that  I  do  not  know  has  ever  been  accounted  for. 

It  is  curious  to  dip  one's  finger  in  a  bucket  full  of  the 
Gulf  Stream,  and  find  it  so  warm  ;  as  if  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
from  whence  this  current  comes,  were  a  great  caldron  or 
boiler,  on  purpose  to  keep  warm  the  North  Atlantic,  which 
is  traversed  by  it  for  a  distance  of  two  thousand  miles,  as 
some  large  halls  in  winter  are  by  hot  air  tubes.  Its  mean 
breadth  being  about  two  hundred  leagues,  it  comprises  an 
area  larger  than  that  of  the  whole  Mediterranean,  and  may 
be  deemed  a  sort  of  Mississippi  of  hot  water  flowing  through 
the  ocean ;  off  the  coast  of  Florida,  running  at  the  rate  of 
one  mile  and  a  half  an  hour. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

A  WHALEMAN  ANl>  A  MAN-OF-WAR9 S-MAN. 

THE  sight  of  the  whales  mentioned  in  the  preceding 
chapter  was  the  bringing  out  of  Larry,  one  of  our  crew,  who 
hitherto  had  been  quite  silent  and  reserved,  as  if  from  some 
conscious  inferiority,  though  he  had  shipped  as  an  ordinary 
seaman,  and,  for  aught  I  could  see,  performed  his  duty  very 
well. 

When  the  men  iell  into  a  dispute  concerning  what  kind 
of  whales  they  were  which  we  saw,  Larry  stood  by  atten 
tively,  and  after  garnering  in  their  ignorance,  all  at  once 
broke  out,  and  astonished  every  body  by  his  intimate  ac 
quaintance  with  the  monsters. 

"  They  ar'n't  sperm  whales,"  said  Larry,  "  their  spouts 
ar'n't  bushy  enough ;  they  ar'n't  Sulphur-bottoms,  or  they 
wouldn't  stay  up  so  long ;  they  ar'n't  Hump-backs,  for  they 
ar'n't  got  any  humps  ;  they  ar'n't  Fin-backs,  for  you  won't 
catch  a  Fin-back  so  near  a  ship  ;  they  ar'n't  Greenland 
whales,  for  we  ar'n't  off  the  coast  of  Greenland ;  and  they 
ar'n't  right  whales,  for  it  wouldn't  be  right  to  say  so.  I  tell 
ye,  men,  them's  Crinkum-crankum  whales." 

"  And  what  are  them  ?"  said  a  sailor. 

"  Why,  them  is  whales  that  can't  be  cotched." 

Now,  as  it  turned  out  that  this  Larry  had  been  bred  to 
the  sea  in  a  whaler,  and  had  sailed  out  of  Nantucket  many 
times ;  no  one  but  Jackson  ventured  to  dispute  his  opinion  ; 
and  even  Jackson  did  not  press  him  very  hard.  And  ever 
after,  Larry's  judgment  was  relied  upon  concerning  all 
strange  fish  that  happened  to  float  by  us  during  the  voyage ; 

F* 


130  REDBURN: 


for  whalemen  are  far  more  familiar  with  the  wonders  of  the 
deep  than  any  other  class  of  seamen. 

This  was  Larry's  first  voyage  in  the  merchant  service, 
and  that  was  the  reason  why,  hitherto,  he  had  been  so  re 
served  ;  since  he  well  knew  that  merchant  seamen  generally 
affect  a  certain  superiority  to  "blubber-boilers"  as  they  con 
temptuously  style  those  who  hunt  the  leviathan.  But  Larry 
turned  out  to  be  such  an  inoffensive  fellow,  and  so  well  un 
derstood  his  business  aboard  ship,  and  was  so  ready  to  jump 
to  an  order,  that  he  was  exempted  from  the  taunts  which  he 
might  otherwise  have  encountered. 

He  was  a  somewhat  singular  man,  who  wore  his  hat 
slanting  forward  over  the  bridge  of  his  nose,  with  his  eyes 
cast  down,  and  seemed  always  examining  your  boots,  when 
speaking  to  you.  I  loved  to  hear  him  talk  about  the  wild 
places  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  on  the  coast  of  Madagascar, 
where  he  had  frequently  touched  during  his  \vhaling  voyages. 
And  this  familiarity  with  the  life  of  nature  led  by  the  people 
in  that  remote  part  of  the  world,  had  furnished  Larry  with 
a  sentimental  distaste  for  civilized  society.  When  opportu 
nity  offered,  he  never  omitted  extolling  the  delights  of  the 
free  and  easy  Indian  Ocean. 

"  Why,"  said  Larry,  talking  through  his  nose,  as  usual, 
"  in  Madagasky  there,  they  don't  wear  any  togs  at  all,  noth 
ing  but  a  bowline  round  the  midships  ;  they  don't  have  no 
dinners,  but  keeps  a  dinin'  all  day  off  fat  pigs  and  dogs  ;  they 
don't  go  to  bed  any  where,  but  keeps  a  noddin'  all  the  time  ; 
and  they  gets  drunk,  too,  from  some  first  rate  arrack  they 
make  from  cocoa-nuts  ;  and  smokes  plenty  of  'baccy,  too,  I 
tell  ye.  Fine  country,  that !  Blast  Ameriky,  I  say  !" 

To  tell  the  truth,  this  Larry  dealt  in  some  illiberal  insin 
uations  against  civilization. 

"  And  what's  the  use  of  bein'  snivelized  ?"  said  he  to 
me  one  night  during  our  watch  on  deck  ;  "  snivelized  chaps 
only  learns  the  way  to  take  on  'bout  life,  and  snivel.  You 
don't  see  any  Methodist  chaps  feelin'  dreadful  about  their 


HI  85    FIRST    VOYAGE.  131 

souls  ;  you  don't  see  any  darned  beggars  and  pesky  consta 
bles  in  Madagasky,  I  tell  ye ;  and  none  o'  them  kings  there  gets 
their  big  toes  pinched  by  the  gout.  Blast  Ameriky,  I  say." 

Indeed,  this  Larry  was  rather  cutting  in  his  innuendoes. 

"  Are  you  now,  Buttons,  any  better  off  for  bein'  snivel- 
ized  ?"  coming  close  up  to  me  and  eying  the  wreck  of  my 
gaff-topsail-boots  very  steadfastly.  "No;  you  a' rn't  a  bit— 
but  you're  a  good  deal  worse  for  it,  Buttons.  I  tell  ye,  ye 
wouldn't  have  been  to  sea  here,  leadin'  this  dog's  life,  if  you 
hadn't  been  snivelized — that's  the  cause  why,  now.  Snivel- 
ization  has  been  the  ruin  on  ye ;  and  it's  spiled  me  complete ; 
I  might  have  been  a  great  man  in  Madagasky  ;  it's  too 
darned  bad  !  Blast  Ameriky,  I  say."  And  in  bitter  grief 
at  the  social  blight  upon  his  whole  past  present,  and  future, 
Larry  turned  away,  pulling  his  hat  still  lower  down  over  the 
bridge  of  his  nose. 

In  strong  contrast  to  Larry,  was  a  young  man-of-war's 
man  we  had,  who  went  by  the  name  of  "  Gun-Deck"  from 
his  always  talking  of  sailor  life  in  the  navy.  He  was  a 
little  fellow  with  a  small  face  and  a  prodigious  mop  of  brown 
hair  ;  who  always  dressed  in  man-of-war  style,  with  a  wide, 
braided  collar  to  his  frock,  and  Turkish  trowsers.  But  he 
particularly  prided  himself  upon  his  feet,  which  were  quite 
small ;  and  when  we  washed  down  decks  of  a  morning, 
never  mind  how  chilly  it  might  be,  he  always  took  off  his 
boots,  and  went  paddling  about  like  a  duck,  turning  out  his 
pretty  toes  to  show  his  charming  feet. 

He  had  served  in  the  armed  steamers  during  the  Seminole 
War  in  Florida,  and  had  a  good  deal  to  say  about  sailing 
up  the  rivers  there,  through  the  everglades,  and  popping  off 
Indians  on  the  banks.  I  remember  his  telling  a  story  about 
a  party  being  discovered  at  quite  a  distance  from  them ;  but 
one  of  the  savages  was  made  very  conspicuous  by  a  pewter 
plate,  which  he  wore  round  his  neck,  and  which  glittered  in 
the  sun.  This  plate  proved  his  death ;  for,  according  to 
Gun-Deck,  he  himself  shot  it  through  the  middle,  and  the 


182  REDBURN: 


ball  entered  the  wearer's  heart.     It  was  a  rat-killing  war, 
he  said. 

Gun-Deck  had  touched  at  Cadiz :  had  been  to  Gibralter ; 
and  ashore  at  Marseilles.  He  had  sunned  himself  in  the 
Bay  of  Naples  :  eaten  figs  and  oranges  in  Messina ;  and 
cheerfully  lost  one  of  his  hearts  at  Malta,  among  the  ladies 
there.  And  about  all  these  things,  he  talked  like  a  romantic 
man-of-war's  man,  who  had  seen  the  civilized  world,  and 
loved  it ;  found  it  good,  and  a  comfortable  place  to  live  in. 
So  he  and  Larry  never  could  agree  in  their  respective  views 
of  civilization,  and  of  savagery,  of  the  Mediterranean  and 
Madagasky. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE    HIGHLANDER    PASSES    A    WRECK. 

WE  were  still  on  the  Banks,  when  a  terrific  storm  came 
down  upon  us,  the  like  of  which  I  had  never  before  beheld, 
or  imagined.  The  rain  poured  down  in  sheets  and  cascades ; 
the  scupper  holes  could  hardly  carry  it  off  the  decks ;  and 
in  bracing  the  yards  we  waded  about  almost  up  to  our 
knees  ;  every  thing  floating  about,  like  chips  in  a  dock. 

This  violent  rain  was  the  precursor  of  a  hard  squall,  for 
which  we  duly  prepared,  taking  in  our  canvas  to  double- 
reefed-top-sails. 

The  tornado  came  rushing  along  at  last,  like  a  troop  of 
wild  horse  before  the  flaming  rush  of  a  burning  prairie. 
But  after  bowing  and  cringing  to  it  awhile,  the  good  High 
lander  was  put  off  before  it ;  and  with  her  nose  in  the 
water,  went  wallowing  on,  ploughing  milk-white  waves,  and 
leaving  a  streak  of  illuminated  foam  in  her  wake. 

It  was  an  awful  scene.  It  made  me  catch  my  breath  as 
I  gazed.  I  could  hardly  stand  on  my  feet,  so  violent  was 
the  motion  of  the  ship.  But  while  I  reeled  to  and  fro,  the 
sailors  only  laughed  at  me  ;  and  bade  me  look  out  that  the 
ship  did  not  fall  overboard ;  and  advised  me  to  get  a  hand 
spike,  and  hold  it  down  hard  in  the  weather-scuppers,  to 
steady  her  wild  motions.  But  I  was  now  getting  a  little 
too  wise  for  this  foolish  kind  of  talk ;  though  all  through  the 
voyage,  they  never  gave  it  over. 

This  storm  past,  we  had  fair  weather  until  we  got  into 
the  Irish  Sea. 

The  morning  following  the  storm,  when  the  sea  and  sky 
had  become  blue  again,  the  man  aloft  sung  out  that  there 


134  REDBURN: 


was  a  wreck  on  the  lee-beam.  We  bore  away  for  it,  all 
hands  looking  eagerly  toward  it,  and  the  captain  in  the 
mizzen-top  with  his  spy-glass.  Presently,  we  slowly  passed 
alongside  of  it. 

It  was  a  dismantled,  water-logged  schooner,  a  most  dis 
mal  sight,  that  must  have  been  drifting  about  for  several 
long  weeks.  The  bulwarks  were  pretty  much  gone  ;  and 
here  and  there  the  bare  stanchions,  or  posts,  were  left  stand 
ing,  splitting  in  two  the  waves  which  broke  clear  over  the 
deck,  lying  almost  even  with  the  sea.  The  foremast  was 
snapt  off  less  than  four  feet  from  its  base  ;  and  the  shattered 
and  splintered  remnant  looked  like  the  stump  of  a  pine  tree 
thrown  over  in  the  woods.  Every  time  she  rolled  in  the  trough 
of  the  sea,  her  open  main-hatchway  yawned  into  view  ;  but 
was  as  quickly  filled,  and  submerged  again,  with  a  rushing, 
gurgling  sound,  as  the  water  ran  into  it  with  the  lee-roll. 

At  the  head  of  the  stump  of  the  mainmast,  about  ten 
feet  above  the  deck,  something  like  a  sleeve  seemed  nailed ; 
it  was  supposed  to  be  the  relic  of  a  jacket,  which  must  have 
been  fastened  there  by  the  crew  for  a  signal,  and  been  frayed 
out  and  blown  away  by  the  wind. 

Lashed,  and  leaning  over  sideways  against  the  taffrail, 
were  three  dark,  green,  grassy  objects,  that  slowly  swayed 
with  every  roll,  but  otherwise  were  motionless.  I  saw  the 
captain's  glass  directed  toward  them,  and  heard  him  say  at 
last,  "  They  must  have  been  dead  a  long  time."  These 
were  sailors,  who  long  ago  had  lashed  themselves  to  the  taff- 
rai]  for  safety  ;  but  must  have  famished. 

Full  of  the  awful  interest  of  the  scene,  I  surely  thought 
the  captain  would  lower  a  boat  to  bury  the  bodies,  and  find 
out  something  about  the  schooner.  But  we  did  not  stop  at 
all ;  passing  on  our  course,  without  so  much  as  learning  the 
schooner's  name,  though  every  one  supposed  her  to  be  a  New 
Brunswick  lumberman. 

On  the  part  of  the  sailors,  no  surprise  was  shown  that  our 
captain  did  not  send  off  a  boat  to  the  wreck  ;  but  the  steer- 


HIS  FIRST   VOYAGE.  135 

age  passengers  were  indignant  at  what  they  called  his  bar 
barity.  For  me,  I  could  not  but  feel  amazed  and  shocked 
at  his  indifference  ;  but  my  subsequent  sea  experiences  have 
shown  me,  that  such  conduct  as  this  is  very  common,  though 
not,  of  course,  when  human  life  can  be  saved. 

So  away  we  sailed,  and  left  her ;  drifting,  drifting  on  ;  a 
garden  spot  for  barnacles,  and  a  playhouse  for  the  sharks. 

"  Look  there, "  said  Jackson,  hanging  over  the  rail  and 
coughing — "  look  there  ;  that's  a  sailor's  coffin.  Ha  !  ha  ! 
Buttons,"  turning  round  to  me — "  how  do  you  like  that, 
Buttons  ?  Wouldn't  you  like  to  take  a  sail  with  them  'ere 
dead  men  ?  Wouldn't  it  be  nice  ?"  And  then  he  tried  to 
laugh,  but  only  coughed  again. 

"  Don't  laugh  at  dem  poor  fellows,"  said  Max,  looking 
grave  ;  <(do'  you  see  dar  bodies,  dar  souls  are  farder  off  dan 
de  Cape  of  Dood  Hope." 

"  Dood  Hope,  Dood  Hope,"  shrieked  Jackson,  with  a  hor 
rid  grin,  mimicking  the  Dutchman,  "  dare  is  no  dood  hope 
for  dem,  old  boy  ;  dey  are  drowned  and  d  ....  d,  as  you  and 
I  will  be,  Red  Max,  one  of  dese  dark  nights." 

"  No,  no,"  said  Blunt,  "  all  sailors  are  saved  ;  they  have 
plenty  of  squalls  here  below,  but  fair  weather  aloft." 

"  And  did  you  get  that  out  of  your  silly  Dream  Book,  you 
Greek?"  howled  Jackson  through  a  cough.  "  Don't  talk  of 
heaven  to  me — it's  a  lie — I  know  it — and  they  are  all  fools 
that  believe  in  it.  Do  you  think,  you  Greek,  that  there's 
any  heaven  for  you  ?  Will  they  let  you  in  there,  with  that 
tarry  hand,  and  that  oily  head  of  hair  ?  Avast !  when  some 
shark  gulps  you  down  his  hatchway  one  of  these  days,  you'll 
find,  that  by  dying,  you'll  only  go  from  one  gale  of  wind  to 
another  ;  mind  that,  you  Irish  cockney  !  Yes,  you'll  be  bolted 
down  like  one  of  your  own  pills  :  and  I  should  like  to  see 
the  whole  ship  swallowed  down  in  the  Norway  maelstrom, 
like  a  box  on  'em.  That  would  be  a  dose  of  salts  for  ye  !" 
And  so  saying,  he  went  off,  holding  his  hands  to  his  chest, 
arid  coughing,  as  if  his  last  hour  was  come. 


136  RED  BURN: 


Every  day  this  Jackson  seemed  to  grow  worse  and  worse, 
both  in  body  and  mind.  He  seldom  spoke,  but  to  contra 
dict,  deride,  or  curse  ;  and  all  the  time,  though  his  face  grew 
thinner  and  thinner,  his  eyes  seemed  to  kindle  more  and  more, 
as  if  he  were  going  to  die  out  at  last,  and  leave  them  burn 
ing  like  tapers  before  a  corpse. 

Though  he  had  never  attended  churches,  and  knew  nothing 
about  Christianity ;  no  more  than  a  Malay  pirate ;  and  though 
he  could  not  read  a  word,  yet  he  was  spontaneously  an  atheist 
and  an  infidel ;  and  during  the  long  night  watches,  would 
enter  into  arguments,  to  prove  that  there  was  nothing  to  be 
believed  ;  nothing  to  be  loved,  and  nothing  worth  living  for  ; 
but  every  thing  to  be  hated,  in  the  wide  world.  He  was  a 
horrid  desperado  ;  and  like  a  wild  Indian,  whom  he  resembled 
in  his  tawny  skin  and  high  cheek  bones,  he  seemed  to  run 
a  muck  at  heaven  and  earth.  He  was  a  Cain  afloat ; 
branded  on  his  yellow  brow  with  some  inscrutable  curse  ; 
and  going  about  corrupting  and  searing  every  heart  that 
beat  near  him. 

But  there  seemed  even  more  woe  than  wickedness  about 
the  man ;  and  his  wickedness  seemed  to  spring  from  his 
woe  ;  and  for  all  his  hideousness,  there  was  that  in  his  eye 
at  times,  that  was  ineffably  pitiable  and  touching ;  and 
though  there  were  moments  when  I  almost  hated  this  Jack 
son,  yet  I  have  pitied  no  man  as  I  have  pitied  him. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

AN  UNACCOUNTABLE   CABIN-PASSENGER,  AND   A    MYSTERIOUS 
YOUNG  LADY. 

As  yet,  I  have  said  nothing  special  about  the  passengers 
we  carried  out.  But  before  making  what  little  mention  I 
shall  of  them,  you  must  know  that  the  Highlander  was  not 
a  Liverpool  liner,  or  packet-ship,  plying  in  connection  with 
a  sisterhood  of  packets,  at  stated  intervals,  between  the  two 
ports.  No  :  she  was  only  what  is  called  a  regular  trader 
to  Liverpool ;  sailing  upon  no  fixed  days,  and  acting  very 
much  as  she  pleased,  being  bound  by  no  obligations  of  any 
kind  :  though  in  all  her  voyages,  ever  having  New  York  or 
Liverpool  for  her  destination.  Merchant  vessels  which  are 
neither  liners  nor  regular  traders,  among  sailors  come  under  the 
general  head  of  transient  ships;  which  implies  that  they  are 
here  to-day,  and  somewhere  else  to-morrow,  like  Mullins's  dog. 

But  I  had  no  reason  to  regret  that  the  Highlander  was 
not  a  liner ;  for  aboard  of  those  liners,  from  all  I  could  gather 
from  those  who  had  sailed  in  them,  the  crew  have  terrible  hard 
work,  owing  to  their  carrying  such  a  press  of  sail;  in  order 
to  make  as  rapid  passages  as  possible,  and  sustain  the  ship's 
reputation  for  speed.  Hence  it  is,  that  although  they  are 
the  very  best  of  sea-going  craft,  and  built  in  the  best  possible 
manner,  and  with  the  very  best  materials,  yet,  a  few  years 
of  scudding  before  the  wind,  as  they  do,  seriously  impairs 
their  constitutions — like  robust  young  men,  who  live  too  fast 
in  their  teens — and  they  are  soon  sold  out  for  a  song ;  gen 
erally  to  the  people  of  Nantucket,  New  Bedford,  and  Sag 
Harbor,  who  repair  and  fit  them  out  for  the  whaling  business. 

Thus,  the  ship  that  once  carried  over  gay  parties  of  ladies 


138  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


and  gentlemen,  as  tourists,  to  Liverpool  or  London,  now 
carries  a  crew  of  harpooneers  round  Cape  Horn  into  the 
Pacific.  And  the  mahogany  and  bird's-eye  maple  cabin, 
which  once  held  rosewood  card-tables  and  brilliant  coffee- 
urns,  and  in  which  many  a  bottle  of  champagne,  and  many 
a  bright  eye  sparkled,  noiv  accommodates  a  bluff  Quaker 
captain  from  Martha's  Vineyard  ;  who,  perhaps,  while  ly 
ing  with  his  ship  in  the  Bay  of  Islands,  in  New  Zealand, 
entertains  a  party  of  naked  chiefs  and  savages  at  dinner,  in 
place  of  the  packet- captain  doing  the  honors  to  the  literati, 
theatrical  stars,  foreign  princes,  and  gentlemen  of  leisure  and 
fortune,  who  generally  talked  gossip,  politics,  and -nonsense 
across  the  table,  in  transatlantic  trips.  The  broad  quarter 
deck,  too,  where  these  gentry  promenaded,  is  now  often  choked 
up  by  the  enormous  head  of  the  sperm-whale,  and  vast  masses 
of  unctuous  blubber  ;  and  every  where  reeks  with  oil  during 
the  prosecution  of  the  fishery.  Sic  transit  gloria  mundi  ! 
Thus  departs  the  pride  and  glory  of  packet-ships  !  It  is  like 
a  broken  down  importer  of  French  silks  embarking  in, the 
soap-boiling  business. 

So,  not  being  a  liner,  the  Highlander  of  course  did  not 
have  very  ample  accommodations  for  cabin  passengers.  I 
believe  there  were  not  more  than  five  or  six  state-rooms, 
with  two  or  three  berths  in  each.  At  any  rate,  on  this 
particular  voyage  she  only  carried  out  one  regular  cabin- 
passenger  ;  that  is,  a  person  previously  unacquainted  with 
the  captain,  who  paid  his  fare  down,  and  came  on  board 
soberly,  and  in  a  business-like  manner  with  his  baggage. 

He  was  an  extremely  little  man,  that  solitary  cabin- 
passenger — the  passenger  who  came  on  board  in  a  business 
like  manner  with  his  baggage ;  never  spoke  to  any  one,  and 
the  captain  seldom  spoke  to  him. 

Perhaps  he  was  a  deputy  from  the  Deaf  and  Dumb 
Institution  in  New  York,  going  over  to  London  to  address 
the  public  in  pantomime  at  Exeter  Hall  concerning  the 
signs  of  the  times. 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  139 

He  was  always  in  a  brown  study  ;  sometimes  sitting  on 
the  quarter-deck  with  arms  folded,  and  head  hanging  upon 
his  chest.  Then  he  would  rise,  and  gaze  out  to  windward, 
as  if  he  had  suddenly  discovered  a  friend.  But  looking  dis 
appointed,  would  retire  slowly  into  his  state-room,  where  you 
could  see  him  through  the  little  window,  in  an  irregular 
sitting  position,  with  the  back  part  of  him  inserted  into  his 
berth,  and  his  head,  arms,  and  legs  hanging  out,  buried  in 
profound  meditation,  with  his  forefinger  aside  of  his  nose. 
He  never  was  seen  reading ;  never  took  a  hand  at  cards ; 
never  smoked  ;  never  drank  wine  ;  never  conversed  ;  and 
never  staid  to  the  dessert  at  dinner-time. 

He  seemed  the  true  microcosm,  or  little  world  to  himself: 
standing  in  no  need  of  levying  contributions  upon  the  sur 
rounding  universe.  Conjecture  was  lost  in  speculating  as 
to  who  he  was,  and  what  was  his  business.  The  sailors, 
who  are  always  curious  with  regard  to  such  matters,  and 
criticise  cabin-passengers  more  than  cabin-passengers  are  per 
haps  aware  at  the  time,  completely  exhausted  themselves  in 
suppositions,  some  of  which  were  characteristically  curious. 

One  of  the  crew  said  he  was  a  mysterious  bearer  of  secret 
dispatches  to  the  English  court ;  others  opined  that  he  was 
a  traveling  surgeon  and  bonesetter,  but  for  what  reason  they 
thought  so,  I  never  could  learn  ;  and  others  declared  that 
he  must  either  be  an  unprincipled  bigamist,  flying  from  his 
last  wife  and  several  small  children ;  or  a  scoundrelly  forger, 
bank-robber,  or  general  burglar,  who  was  returning  to  his 
beloved  country  with  his  ill-gotten  booty.  One  observing 
sailor  was  of  opinion  that  he  was  an  English  murderer, 
overwhelmed  with  speechless  remorse,  and  returning  home 
to  make  a  full  confession  and  be  hanged. 

But  it  was  a  little  singular,  that  among  all  their  sage  and 
sometimes  confident  opinings,  not  one  charitable  one  was 
made  ;  no  !  they  were  all  sadly  to  the  prejudice  of  his  moral 
and  religious  character.  But  this  is  the  way  all  the  world 
over.  Miserable  man  !  could  you  have  had  an  inkling  of 


140,  REDBURN: 

what  they  thought  of  you,  I  know  not  what  you  would  have 
done. 

However,  not  knowing  any  thing  about  these  surmisings 
and  suspicions,  this  mysterious  cabin-passenger  went  on  his 
way,  calm,  cool,  and  collected ;  never  troubled  any  body,  and 
nobody  troubled  him.  Sometimes,  of  a  moonlight  night,  he 
glided  about  the  deck,  like  the  ghost  of  a  hospital  attendant ; 
flitting  from  mast  to  mast ;  now  hovering  round  the  skylight, 
now  vibrating  in  the  vicinity  of  the  binnacle.  Blunt,  the 
Dream  Book  tar,  swore  he  was  a  magician  ;  and  took  an 
extra  dose  of  salts,  by  way  of  precaution  against  his  spells. 

When  we  were  but  a  few  days  from  port,  a  comical 
adventure  befell  this  cabin-passenger.  There  is  an  old  cus 
tom,  still  in  vogue  among  some  merchant  sailors,  of  tying 
fast  in  the  rigging  any  lubberly  landsman  of  a  passenger 
who  may  be  detected  taking  excursions  aloft,  however  mod 
erate  the  flight  of  the  awkward  fowl.  This  is  called  "  mak 
ing  a  spread  eagle"  of  the  man  ;  and  before  he  is  liberated, 
a  promise  is  exacted,  that  before  arriving  in  port,  he  shall 
furnish  the  ship's  company  with  money  enough  for  a  treat 
all  round. 

Now  this  being  one  of  the  perquisites  of  sailors,  they  are 
always  on  the  keen  look-out  for  an  opportunity  of  levying 
such  contributions  upon  incautious  strangers  ;  though  they 
never  attempt  it  in  presence  of  the  captain ;  as  for  the  mates, 
they  purposely  avert  their  eyes,  and  are  earnestly  engaged 
about  something  else,  whenever  they  get  an  inkling  of  this 
proceeding  going  on.  But,  with  only  one  poor  fellow  of  a 
cabin-passenger  on  board  of  the  Highlander,  and  he  such  a 
quiet,  unobtrusive,  unadventurous  wight,  there  seemed  little 
chance  for  levying  contributions. 

One  remarkably  pleasant  morning,  however,  what  should 
be  seen,  half  way  up  the  mizzen  rigging,  but  the  figure  of 
our  cabin-passenger,  holding  on  with  might  and  main  by  all 
four  limbs,  and  with  his  head  fearfully  turned  round,  gazing 
off  to  the  horizon.  He  looked  as  if  he  had  the  nightmare  ; 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  141 

and  in  some  sudden  and  unaccountable  fit  of  insanity,  he 
must  have  been  impelled  to  the  taking  up  of  that  perilous 
position. 

"  Good  heavens  !"  said  the  mate,  who  was  a  bit  of  a 
wag,  "you  will  surely  fall,  sir!  Steward,  spread  a  mattress 
on  deck,  under  the  gentleman  !" 

But  no  sooner  was  our  Greenland  sailor's  attention  called 
to  the  sight,  than  snatching  up  some  rope-yarn,  he  ran  softly 
up  behind  the  passenger,  and  without  speaking  a  word,  began 
binding  him  hand  and  foot.  The  stranger  was  more  dumb 
than  ever  with  amazement ;  at  last  violently  remonstrated ; 
but  in  vain  ;  for  as  his  fearfulness  of  falling  made  him  keep 
his  hands  glued  to  the  ropes,  and  so  prevented  him  from  any 
effectual  resistance,  he  was  soon  made  a  handsome  spread- 
eagle  of,  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  the  crew. 

It  was  now  discovered  for  the  first,  that  this  singular 
passenger  stammered  and  stuttered  very  badly,  which,  per 
haps,  was  the  cause  of  his  reservedness. 

"  Wha-wha-what  i-i-is  this  f-f-for  ?" 

"  Spread-eagle,  sir,"  said  the  Greenlander,  thinking  that 
those  few  words  would  at  once  make  the  matter  plain. 

"  Wha-wha-what  that  me-me-mean  ?" 

"  Treats  all  round,  sir,"  said  the  Greenlander,  wondering 
at  the  other's  obtusity,  who,  however,  had  never  so  much  as 
heard  of  the  thing  before. 

At  last,  upon  his  reluctant  acquiescence  in  the  demands 
of  the  sailor,  and  handing  him  two  half-crown  pieces,  the 
unfortunate  passenger  was  suffered  to  descend. 

The  last  I  ever  saw  of  this  man  was  his  getting  into  a 
cab  at  Prince's  Dock  Gates  in  Liverpool,  and  driving  off 
alone  to  parts  unknown.  He  had  nothing  but  a  valise  with 
him,  and  an  umbrella ;  but  his  pockets  looked  stuffed  out ; 
perhaps  he  used  them  for  carpet-bags. 

I  must  now  give  some  account  of  another  and  still  more 
mysterious,  though  very  different,  sort  of  an  occupant  of  the 
cabin,  of  whom  I  have  previously  hinted.  What  say  you 


142  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


to  a  charming  young  girl  ? — -just  the  girl  to  sing  the  Dash 
ing  White  Sergeant ;  a  martial,  military-looking  girl ;  her 
father  must  have  been  a  general.  Her  hair  was  auburn  ; 
her  eyes  were  blue  ;  her  cheeks  were  white  and  red  ;  and 
Captain  Riga  was  her  most  devoted. 

To  the  curious  questions  of  the  sailors  concerning  who 
she  was,  the  steward  used  to  answer,  that  she  was  the 
daughter  of  one  of  the  Liverpool  dock-masters,  who,  for  the 
benefit  of  her  health  and  the  improvement  of  her  mind,  had 
sent  her  out  to  America  in  the  Highlander,  under  the  cap 
tain's  charge,  who  was  his  particular  friend  ;  and  that  now 
the  young  lady  was  returning  home  from  her  tour. 

And  truly  the  captain  proved  an  attentive  father  to  her, 
and  often  promenaded  with  her  hanging  on  his  arm,  past  the 
forlorn  bearer  of  secret  dispatches,  who  would  look  up  now 
and  then  out  of  his  reveries,  and  cast  a  furtive  glance  of 
wonder,  as  if  he  thought  the  captain  was  audacious. 

Considering  his  beautiful  ward,  I  thought  the  captain  be 
haved  ungallantly,  to  say  the  least,  in  availing  himself  of  the 
opportunity  of  her  charming  society,  to  wear  out  his  remain 
ing  old  clothes  ;  for  no  gentleman  ever  pretends  to  save  his 
best  coat  when  a  lady  is  in  the  case  ;  indeed,  he  generally 
thirsts  for  a  chance  to  abase  it,  by  converting  it  into  a 
pontoon  over  a  puddle,  like  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  that  the 
ladies  may  riot  soil  the  soles  of  their  dainty  slippers.  But 
this  Captain  Riga  was  no  Raleigh,  and  hardly  any  sort  of 
a  true  gentleman  whatever,  as  I  have  formerly  declared. 
Yet,  perhaps,  he  might  have  worn  his  old  clothes  in  this  in 
stance,  for  the  express  purpose  of  proving,  by  his  disdain  for 
the  toilet,  that  he  was  nothing  but  the  young  lady's  guardian,  j 
for  many  guardians  do  not  care  one  fig  how  shabby  they 
look. 

But  for  all  this,  the  passage  out  was  one  long  paternal 
sort  of  a  shabby  flirtation  between  this  hoydenish  nyrnph  and 
the  ill-dressed  captain.  And  surely,  if  her  good  mother, 
were  she  living,  could  have  seen  this  young  lady,  she  would 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  14t> 

have  given  her  an  endless  lecture  for  her  conduct,  and  a 
copy  of  Mrs.  Ellis's  Daughters  of  England  to  read  and 
digest. 

I  shall  say  no  more  of  this  anonymous  nymph ;  only,  that 
when  we  arrived  at  Liverpool,  she  issued  from  her  cabin  in 
a  richly  embroidered  silk  dress,  and  lace  hat  and  vail,  and 
a  sort  of  Chinese  umbrella  or  parasol,  which  one  of  the  sailors 
declared  "  spandangalous  ;"  and  the  captain  followed  after 
in  his  best  broadcloth  and  beaver,  with  a  gold-headed  cane ; 
and  away  they  went  in  a  carriage,  ar<i  thai  was  the  last 
of  her ;  I  hope  she  is  well  and  happy  .now ;  but  I  have  some 
misgivings. 

It  now  remains  to  speak  of  the  steerage  passengers.  There 
were  not  more  than  twenty  or  thirty  of  them,  mostly  me 
chanics,  returning  home,  after  a  prosperous  stay  in  America, 
to  escort  their  wives  and  families  back.  These  were  the 
only  occupants  of  the  steerage  that  I  ever  knew  of;  till 
early  one  morning,  in  the  gray  dawn,  when  we  made  Cape 
Clear,  the  south  point  of  Ireland,  the  apparition  of  a  tall 
Irishman,  in  a  shabby  shirt  of  bed-ticking,  emerged  from 
the  fore  hatchway,  and  stood  leaning  on  the  rail,  looking 
landward  with  a  fixed,  reminiscent  expression,  and  diligently 
scratching  its  back  with  both  hands.  We  all  started  at  the 
sight,  for  no  one  had  ever  seen  the  apparition  before  ;  and 
when  we  remembered  that  it  must  have  been  burrowing  all 
the  passage  down  in  its  bunk,  the  only  probable  reason  of  its 
so  manipulating  its  back  became  shockingly  obvious. 

I  had  almost  forgotten  another  passenger  of  ours,  a  little 
boy  not  four  feet  high,  an  English  lad,  who,  when  we  were 
about  forty-eight  hours  from  New  York,  suddenly  appeared 
on  deck,  asking  for  something  to  eat. 

It  seems  he  was  the  son  of  a  carpenter,  a  widower,  with 
this  only  child,  who  had  gone  out  to  America  in  the  High 
lander  some  six  months  previous,  where  he  fell  to  drinking, 
and  soon  died,  leaving  the  boy  a  friendless  orphan,  in  a 
foreign  land. 


144  KEDBUEN: 


For  several  weeks  the  boy  wandered  about  the  wharves, 
picking  up  a  precarious  livelihood  by  sucking  molasses  out 
of  the  casks  discharged  from  West  India  ships,  and  occasion 
ally  regaling  himself  upon  stray  oranges  and  lemons  found 
floating  in  the  docks.  He  passed  his  nights  sometimes  in  a 
stall  in  the  markets,  sometimes  in  an  empty  hogshead  on 
the  piers,  sometimes  in  a  doorway,  and  once  in  the  watch- 
house,  from  which  he  escaped  the  next  morning,  running,  as 
he  told  me,  right  between  the  door-keeper's  legs,  when,  he 
was  taking  another  vagrant  to  task  for  repeatedly  throwing 
himself  upon  the  public  charities. 

At  last,  while  straying  along  the  docks,  he  chanced  to 
catch  sight  of  the  Highlander,  and  immediately  recognized 
her  as  the  very  ship  which  brought  him  and  his  father  out 
from  England.  He  at  once  resolved  to  return  in  her  ;  and, 
accosting  the  captain,  stated  his  case,  and  begged  a  passage. 
The  captain  refused  to  give  it ;  but,  nothing  daunted,  the 
heroic  little  fellow  resolved  to  conceal  himself  on  board  pre 
vious  to  the  ship's  sailing  ;  which  he  did,  stowing  himself 
away  in  the  between-decks  ;  and  moreover,  as  he  told  us,  in 
a  narrow  space  between  two  large  casks  of  water,  from 
which  he  now  and  then  thrust  out  his  head  for  air.  And 
once  a  steerage  passenger  rose  in  the  night  and  poked  in 
and  rattled  about  a  stick  where  he  was,  thinking  him  an 
uncommon  large  rat,  who  was  after  stealing  a  passage 
across  the  Atlantic.  There  are  plenty  of  passengers  of 
that  kind  continually  plying  between  Liverpool  and  New 
York. 

As  soon  as  he  divulged  the  fact  of  his  being  on  board, 
which  he  took  care  should  not  happen  till  he  thought  the 
ship  must  be  out  of  sight  of  land  ;  the  captain  had  him 
called  aft,  and  after  giving  him  a  thorough  shaking,  and 
threatening  to  toss  him  overboard  as  a  tit-bit  for  John 
Shark,  he  told  the  mate  to  send  him  forward  among  the 
sailors,  and  let  him  live  there.  The  sailors  received  him  with 
open  arms ;  but  before  caressing  him  much,  they  gave  him 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  145 

a  thorough  washing  in  the  lee-scuppers,  when  he  turned  out 
to  be  quite  a  handsome  lad,  though  thin  and  pale  with  the 
hardships  he  had  suffered.  However,  by  good  nursing  and 
plenty  to  eat,  he  soon  improved  and  grew  fat ;  and  before 
many  days  was  as  fine  a  looking  little  fellow,  as  you  might 
pick  out  of  Queen  Victoria's  nursery. 

The  sailors  took  the  warmest  interest  in  him.  One 
made  him  a  little  hat  with  a  long  ribbon ;  another  a  little 
jacket ;  a  third  a  comical  little  pair  of  man-of-war's-man's 
trowsers  ;  so  that  in  the  end,  he  looked  like  a  juvenile  boat- 
swain's-mate.  Then  the  cook  furnished  him  with  a  little 
tin  pot  and  pan ;  and  the  steward  made  him  a  present  of  a 
pewter  tea-spoon  ;  and  a  steerage  passenger  gave  him  a  jack- 
knife.  And  thus  provided,  he  used  to  sit  at  meal  times  half 
way  up  on  the  forecastle  ladder,  making  a  great  racket  with 
his  pot  and  pan,  and  merry  as  a  cricket.  He  was  an  un 
commonly  fine,  cheerful,  clever,  arch  little  fellow,  only  six 
years  old,  arid  it  was  a  thousand  pities  that  he  should  be 
abandoned,  as  he  was.  Who  can  say,  whether  he  is  fated 
to  be  a  convict  in  New  South  Wales,  or  a  member  of  Par 
liament  for  Liverpool  ?  When  we  got  to  that  port,  by  the 
way,  a  purse  was  made  up  for  him  ;  the  captain,  officers, 
and  the  mysterious  cabin  passenger  contributing  their  best 
wishes,  and  the  sailors,  and  poor  steerage  passengers  some 
thing  like  fifteen  dollars  in  cash  and  tobacco.  But  I  had 
almost  forgot  to  add  that  the  daughter  of  the  dock-master 
gave  him  a  fine  lace  pocket-handkerchief  and  a  card-case  to 
remember  her  by  ;  very  valuable,  but  somewhat  inappropri 
ate  presents.  Thus  supplied,  the  little  hero  went  ashore  by 
himself;  and  I  lost  sight  of  him  in  the  vast  crowds  throng 
ing  the  docks  of  Liverpool. 

I  must  here  mention,  as  some  relief  to  the  impression 
which  Jackson's  character  must  have  made  upon  the  reader, 
that  in  several  ways  he  at  first  befriended  this  boy ;  but  the 
boy  always  shrunk  from  him ;  till,  at  last,  stung  by  his 
conduct,  Jackson  spoke  to  him  no  more ;  and  seemed  to 

G 


146  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


hate  him,  harmless  as  he  was,  along  with  all  the  rest  of 
the  world. 

As  for  the  Lancashire  lad,  he  was  a  stupid  sort  of  fellow, 
as  I  have  before  hinted.  So,  little  interest  was  taken  in 
him,  that  he  was  permitted  to  go  ashore  at  last,  without  a 
good-by  from  any  person  but  one. 


CHAPTER  3CXIV. 

HE    BEGINS    TO    HOP    ABOUT     IN     THE     RIGGING    LIKE    A    SAINT 
JAGO'S    MONKEY. 

BUT  we  have  not  got  to  Liverpool  yet ;  though,  as  there 
is  little  more  to  be  said  concerning  the  passage  out,  the 
Highlander  may  as  well  make  sail  arid  get  there  as  soon  as 
possible.  The  brief  interval  will  perhaps  be  profitably  em 
ployed  in  relating  what  progress  I  made  in  learning  the 
duties  of  a  sailor. 

After  my  heroic  feat  in  loosing  the  main-skysail,  the  mate 
entertained  good  hopes  of  my  becoming  a  rare  mariner.  In 
the  fullness  of  his  heart,  he  ordered  me  to  turn  over  the 
superintendence  of  the  chicken-coop  to  the  Lancashire  boy  ; 
which  I  did,  very  willingly.  After  that,  I  took  care  to 
show  the  utmost  alacrity  in  running  aloft,  which  by  this 
time  became  mere  fun  for  me ;  and  nothing  delighted  me 
more  than  to  sit  on  one  of  the  topsail-yards,  for  hours  to 
gether,  helping  Max  or  the  Greenlander  as  they  worked  at 
the  rigging. 

At  sea,  the  sailors  are  continually  engaged  in  "parcel 
ling"  "  serving,"  and  in  a  thousand  ways  ornamenting  and 
repairing  the  numberless  shrouds  and  stays  ;  mending  sails, 
or  turning  one  side  of  the  deck  into  a  rope- walk,  where  they 
manufacture  a  clumsy  sort  of  twine,  called  spun-yarn. 
This  is  spun  with  a  winch  ;  and  many  an  hour  the  Lanca 
shire  boy  had  to  play  the  part  of  an  engine,  and  contribute 
the  motive  power.  For  material,  they  use  odds  and  ends 
of  old  rigging  called  "junk"  the  yarns  of  which  are  picked 
to  pieces,  and  then  twisted  into  new  combinations,  something 
as  most  books  are  manufactured. 


148  REDBURN: 


This  "junk"  is  bought  at  the  junk  shops  along  the 
wharves;  outlandish  looking  dens,  generally  subterranean, 
full  of  old  iron,  old  shrouds,  spars,  rusty  blocks,  and  super 
annuated  tackles ;  and  kept  by  villainous  looking  old  men,  in 
tarred  trowsers,  and  with  yellow  beards  like  oakum.  They 
look  like  wreckers  ;  and  the  scattered  goods  they  expose  for 
sale,  involuntarily  remind  one  of  the  sea-beach,  covered  with 
keels  and  cordage,  swept  ashore  in  a  gale. 

Yes,  I  was  now  as  nimble  as  a  monkey  in  the  rigging, 
and  at  the  cry  of  "tumble  up  there,  my  hearties,  and  take 
in  sail,"  I  was  among  the  first  ground-and-lofty  tumblers, 
that  sprang  aloft  at  the  word. 

But  the  first  time  we  reefed  top-sails  of  a  dark  night,  and 
I  found  myself  hanging  over  the  yard  with  eleven  others, 
the  ship  plunging  and  rearing  like  a  mad  horse,  till  I  felt 
like  being  jerked  off  the  spar  ;  then,  indeed,  I  thought  of  a 
feather-bed  at  home,  and  hung  on  with  tooth  and  nail ;  with 
no  chance  for  snoring.  But  a  few  repetitions,  soon  made 
me  used  to  it ;  and  before  long,  I  tied  my  reef-point  as 
quickly  and  expertly  as  the  best  of  them  ;  never  making 
what  they  call  a  "granny-knot"  and  slipt  down  on  deck 
by  the  bare  stays,  instead  of  the  shrouds.  It  is  surprising, 
how  soon  a  boy  overcomes  his  timidity  about  going  aloft. 
For  my  own  part,  rny  nerves  became  as  steady  as  the  earth's 
diameter,  and  1  felt  as  fearless  on  the  royal  yard,  as  Sam 
Patch  on  the  cliff  of  Niagara.  To  my  amazement,  also,  I 
found,  that  running  up  the  rigging  at  sea,  especially  during 
a  squall,  was  much  easier  than  while  lying  in  port.  For  as 
you  always  go  up  on  the  windward  side,  and  the  ship  leans 
over,  it  makes  more  of  a  stairs  of  the  rigging  ;  whereas,  in 
harbor,  it  is  almost  straight  up  and  down. 

Besides,  the  pitching  and  rolling  only  imparts  a  pleasant 
sort  of  vitality  to  the  vessel ;  so  that  the  difference  in  being 
aloft  in  a  ship  at  sea,  and  a  ship  in  harbor,  is  pretty  much 
the  same,  as  riding  a  real  live  horse  and  a  wooden  one. 
And  even  if  the  live  charger  should  pitch  you  over  his  head, 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  149 

that  would  be  much  more  satisfactory,  than  an  inglorious 
fall  from  the  other. 

I  took  great  delight  in  furling  the  top-gallant  sails  and 
royals  in  a  hard  blow  ;  which  duty  required  two  hands  on 
the  yard. 

There  was  a  wild  delirium  about  it;  a  fine  rushing  of 
the  blood  about  the  heart ;  and  a  glad,  thrilling,  and  throb 
bing  of  the  whole  system,  to  find  yourself  tossed  up  at  every 
pitch  into  the  clouds  of  a  stormy  sky,  and  hovering  like  a 
judgment  angel  between  heaven  and  earth  ;  both  hands  free, 
with  one  foot  in  the  rigging,  and  one  somewhere  behind  you 
in  the  air.  The  sail  would  fill  out  like  a  balloon,  with  a 
report  like  a  small  cannon,  and  then  collapse  and  sink  away 
into  a  handful.  And  the  feeling  of  mastering  the  rebellious 
canvas,  and  tying  it  down  like  a  slave  to  the  spar,  and 
binding  it  over  and  over  with  the  gasket,  had  a  touch  of 
pride  and  power  in  it,  such  as  young  King  Richard  must 
have  felt,  when  he  trampled  down  the  insurgents  of  Wat 
Tyler. 

As  for  steering,  they  never  would  let  me  go  to  the  helm, 
except  during  a  calm,  when  I  and  the  figure-head  on  the 
bow  were  about  equally  employed. 

By  the  way,  that  figure-head  was  a  passenger  I  forgot  to 
make  mention  of  before. 

He  was  a  gallant  six-footer  of  a  Highlander  "in  full  fig" 
with  bright  tartans,  bare  knees,  barred  leggings,  and  blue 
bonnet  and  the  most  vermilion  of  cheeks.  He  was  game  to 
his  wooden  marrow,  and  stood  up  to  it  through  thick  and 
thin  ;  one  foot  a  little  advanced,  and  his  right  arm  stretched 
forward,  daring  on  the  waves.  In  a  gale  of  wind  it  was 
glorious  to  watch  him  standing  at  his  post  like  a  hero,  and 
plunging  up  and  down  the  watery  Highlands  and  Lowlands, 
as  the  ship  went  foaming  on  her  way.  He  was  a  veteran 
with  many  wounds  of  many  sea-fights  ;  and  when  he  got  to 
Liverpool  a  figure-head-builder  there,  amputated  his  left  leg, 
and  gave  him  another  wooden  one.  which  I  am  sorry  to  say, 


150  R  B  D  B  U  R  N  : 


did  not  fit  him  very  well,  for  ever  after  he  looked  as  if  he 
limped.  Then  this  figure-head-surgeon  gave  him  another 
nose,  and  touched  up  one  eye,  and  repaired  a  rent  in  his 
tartans.  After  that  the  painter  came  and  made  his  toilet 
all  over  again ;  giving  him  a  new  suit  throughout,  with  a 
plaid  of  a  beautiful  pattern. 

I  do  not  know  what  has  become  of  Donald  now,  but  I 
hope  he  is  safe  and  snug  with  a  handsome  pension  in  the 
"  Sailors'-Snug-Harbor"  on  Staten  Island. 

The  reason  why  they  gave  me  such  a  slender  chance  of 
learning  to  steer  was  this.  I  was  quite  young  and  raw,  and 
steering  a  ship  is  a  great  art,  upon  which  much  depends  ; 
especially  the  making  a  short  passage  ;  for  if  the  helmsman 
be  a  clumsy,  careless  fellow,  or  ignorant  of  his  duty,  he  keeps 
the  ship  going  about  in  a  melancholy  state  of  indecision  as  to 
its  precise  destination  ;  so  that  on  a  voyage  to  Liverpool,  it 
may  be  pointing  one  while  for  Gibralter,  then  for  Rotterdam, 
and  now  for  John  o'  Groat's  ;  all  of  which  is  worse  than 
wasted  time.  Whereas,  a  true  steersman  keeps  her  to  her 
work  night  and  day  ;  and  tries  to  make  a  bee-line  from  port 
to  port. 

Then,  in  a  sudden  squall,  inattention,  or  want  of  quickness 
at  the  helm,  might  make  the  ship  "lurch  to" — or  "bring 
her  by  the  lee."  And  what  those  things  are,  the  cabin  pas 
sengers  would  never  find  out,  when  they  found  themselves 
going  down,  down,  down,  and  bidding  good-by  forever  to  the 
moon  and  stars. 

And  they  little  think,  many  of  them,  fine  gentlemen  and 
ladies  that  they  are,  what  an  important  personage,  and  how 
much  to  be  had  in  reverence,  is  the  rough  fellow  in  the  pea- 
jacket,  whom  they  see  standing  at  the  wheel,  now  cocking 
his  eye  aloft,  and  then  peeping  at  the  compass,  or  looking 
out  to  windward. 

Why,  that  fellow  has  all  your  lives  and  eternities  in  his 
hand  ;  and  with  one  small  and  almost  imperceptible  motion 
of  a  spoke,  in  a  gale  of  wind,  might  give  a  vast  deal  of  work 


HIS   FIRST   VOYAGE.  151 

to  surrogates  and  lawyers,  in  proving  last  wills  and  testa 
ments. 

Ay,  you  may  well  stare  at  him  now.  He  does  not  look 
much  like  a  man  who  might  play  into  the  hands  of  an  heir- 
at-law,  does  he  ?  Yet  such  is  the  case.  Watch  him  close, 
therefore  ;  take  him  down  into  your  state-room  occasionally 
after  a  stormy  watch,  and  make  a  friend  of  him.  A  glass 
of  cordial  will  do  it. 

And  if  you  or  your  heirs  are  interested  with  the  under 
writers,  then  also  have  an  eye  on  him.  And  if  you  remark, 
that  of  the  crew,  all  the  men  who  come  to  the  helm  are 
careless,  or  inefficient ;  and  if  you  observe  the  captain  scold 
ing  them  often,  and  crying  out:  "  Luff,  you  rascal;  she's 
falling  off 7"  or,  "  Keep  her  steady,  you  scoundrel,  you're 
boxing  the  compass  /"  then  hurry  down  to  your  state-room, 
and  if  you  have  not  yet  made  a  will,  get  out  your  stationery 
and  go  at  it ;  and  when  it  is  done,  seal  it  up  in  a  bottle, 
like  Columbus'  log,  and  it  may  possibly  drift  ashore,  when 
yon  are  drowned  in  the  next  gale  of  wind. 


CHAPTER  XXV.     4   ; 

QUARTER-DECK  FURNITUER. 

THOUGH,  for  reasons  hinted  at  above,  they  would  not  let 
me  steer,  I  contented  myself  with  learning  the  compass,  a 
graphic  fac-simile  of  which  I  drew  on  a  blank  leaf  of  the 
"  Wealth  of  Nations"  and  studied  it  every  morning,  like 
the  multiplication  table. 

I  liked  to  peep  in  at  the  binnacle,  and  watch  the  needle  ; 
and  I  wondered  how  it  was  that  it  pointed  north,  rather 
than  south  or  west ;  for  I  do  not  know  that  any  reason 
can  be  given  why  it  points  in  the  precise  direction  it 
does.  One  would  think,  too,  that,  as  since  the  beginning 
of  the  world  almost,  the  tide  of  emigration  has  been  setting 
west,  the  needle  would  point  that  way  ;  whereas,  it  is  forever 
pointing  its  fixed  fore-finger  toward  the  Pole,  where  there 
are  few  inducements  to  attract  a  sailor,  unless  it  be  plenty 
of  ice  for  mint-juleps. 

Our  binnacle,  by  the  way,  the  place  that  holds  a  ship's 
compasses,  deserves  a  word  of  mention.  It  was  a  little  house, 
about  the  bigness  of  a  common  bird-cage,  with  sliding  panel 
doors,  and  two  drawing-rooms  within,  and  constantly  perched 
upon  a  stand,  right  in  front  of  the  helm.  It  had  two  chim 
ney  stacks  to  carry  off  the  smoke  of  the  lamp  that  burned 
in  it  by  night.  It  was  painted  green,  and  on  two  sides  had 
Venetian  blinds;  and  on  one  side  two  glazed  sashes;  so  that 
it  looked  like  a  cool  little  summer  retreat,  a  snug  bit  of  an 
arbor  at  the  end  of  a  shady  garden  lane.  Had  I  been  the 
captain,  I  would  have  planted  vines  in  boxes,  and  placed 
them  so  as  to  overrun  this  binnacle  ;  or  I  would  have  put 
canary-birds  within ;  and  so  made  an  aviary  of  it.  It  is 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  153 

surprising  what  a  different  air  may  be  imparted  to  the 
meanest  thing  by  the  dainty  hand  of  taste. 

Nor  must  I  omit  the  helm  itself,  which  was  one  of  a  new 
construction,  and  a  particular  favorite  of  the  captain.  It 
was  a  complex  system  of  cogs  and  wheels  and  spindles,  all 
of  polished  brass,  and  looked  something  like  a  printing-press, 
or  power-loom.  The  sailors,  however,  did  not  like  it  much, 
owing  to  the  casualties  that  happened  to  their  imprudent 
fingers,  by  catching  in  among  the  cogs  and  other  intricate 
contrivances.  Then,  sometimes  in  a  calm,  when  the  sudden 
swells  would  lift  the  ship,  the  helm  would  fetch  a  lurch,  and 
send  the  helmsman  revolving  round  like  Ixion,  often  seriously 
hurting  him  ;  a  sort  of  breaking  on  the  wheel. 

The  harness-cask,  also,  a  sort  of  sea  side-board,  or  rather 
meat-safe,  in  which  a  week's  allowance  of  salt  pork  and 
beef  is  kept,  deserves  being  chronicled.  It  formed  part  of 
the  standing  furniture  of  the  quarter-deck.  Of  an  oval 
shape,  it  was  banded  round  with  hoops  all  silver-gilt,  with 
gilded  bands  secured  with  gilded  screws,  and  a  gilded  pad 
lock,  richly  chased.  This  formed  the  captain's  smoking- 
seat,  where  he  would  perch  himself  of  an  afternoon,  a  tas- 
seled  Chinese  cap  upon  his  head,  and  a  fragrant  Havanna 
between  his  white  and  canine-looking  teeth.  He  took  much 
solid  comfort,  Captain  Riga. 

Then  the  magnificent  capstan  !  The  pride  and  glory  of 
the  whole  ship's  company,  the  constant  care  and  dandled, 
darling  of  the  cook,  whose  duty  it  was  to  keep  it  polished 
like  a  tea-pot ;  and  it  was  an  object  of  distant  admiration  to 
the  steerage  passengers.  Like  a  parlor  center-table,  it  stood 
full  in  the  middle  of  the  quarter-deck,  radiant  with  brazen 
stars,  and  variegated  with  diamond-shaped  veneerings  of 
mahogany  and  satin  wood.  This  was  the  captain's  lounge, 
and  the  chief  mate's  secretary,  in  the  bar-holes  keeping 
paper  and  pencil  for  memorandums. 

I  might  proceed  and  speak  of  the  booby-hatch,  used  as  a 
sort  of  settee  by  the  officers,  and  the  fife-rail  round  the 

G* 


154  R  B  D  B  U  R  N 


mainmast,  inclosing  a  little  park  of  canvas,  painted  green, 
where  a  small  white  dog  with  a  blue  ribbon  round  his  neck, 
belonging  to  the  dock-master's  daughter,  used  to  take  his 
morning  walks,  and  air  himself  in  this  small  edition  of  the 
New  York  Bowling-Green. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

A    SAILOR    A    JACK    OF    ALL    TRADES. 

As  I  began  to  learn  my  sailor  duties,  and  show  activity 
in  running  aloft,  the  men,  I  observed,  treated  me  with  a 
little  more  consideration,  though  not  at  all  relaxing  in  a  cer 
tain  air  of  professional  superiority.  For  the  mere  knowing 
of  the  names  of  the  ropes,  and  familiarizing  yourself  with 
their  places,  so  that  you  can  lay  hold  of  them  in  the  darkest 
night ;  and  the  loosing  and  furling  of  the  canvas,  and  reef 
ing  topsails,  and  hauling  braces  ;  all  this,  though  of  course 
forming  an  indispensable  part  of  a  seaman's  vocation,  and 
the  business  in  which  he  is  principally  engaged  ;  yet  these 
are  things  which  a  beginner  of  ordinary  capacity  soon  mas 
ters,  and  which  are  far  inferior  to  many  other  matters 
familiar  to  an  "  able  seaman." 

What  did  I  know,  for  instance,  about  striking  a  top 
gallant-mast,  and  sending  it  down  on  deck  in  a  gale  of 
wind  ?  Could  I  have  turned  in  a  dead-eye,  or  in  the 
approved  nautical  style  have  clapt  a  seizing  on  the  main 
stay?  What  did  I  know  of  "passing  a  gammoning,"" 
"reiving  a  Burton,"  "strapping  a  shoe-block"  "clearing 
a  foul  hawse,"  and  innumerable  other  intricacies  ? 

The  business  of  a  thorough-bred  sailor  is  a  special  call 
ing,  as  much  of  a  regular  trade  as  a  carpenter's  or  lock 
smith's.  Indeed,  it  requires  considerably  more  adroitness, 
and  far  more  versatility  of  talent. 

In  the  English  merchant  service  boys  serve  a  long  ap 
prenticeship  to  the  sea,  of  seven  years.  Most  of  them  first 
enter  the  Newcastle  colliers,  where  they  see  a  great  deal  of 
severe  coasting  service.  In  an  old  copy  of  the  Letters  of 
Junius,  belonging  to  my  father,  I  remember  reading,  that 


156  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


coal  to  supply  the  city  of  London  could  be  dug  at  Black- 
heath,  and  sold  for  one  half  the  price  that  the  people  of 
London  then  paid  for  it ;  but  the  Government  would  not 
suffer  the  mines  to  be  opened,  as  it  would  destroy  the  great 
nursery  for  British  seamen. 

A  thorough  sailor  must  understand  much  of  other  avo 
cations.  He  must  be  a  bit  of  an  embroiderer,  to  work 
fanciful  collars  of  hempen  lace  about  the  shrouds  ;  he  must 
be  something  of  a  weaver,  to  weave  mats  of  rope-yarns  for 
lashings  to  the  boats  ;  he  must  have  a  touch  of  millinery,  so 
as  to  tie  graceful  bows  and  knots,  such  as  Matthew  Walker's 
roses,  and  Turk's  heads  ;  he  must  be  a  bit  of  a  musician, 
in  order  to  sing  out  at  the  halyards  ;  he  must  be  a  sort  of 
jeweler,  to  set  dead-eyes  in  the  standing  rigging  ;  he  must 
be  a  carpenter,  to  enable  him  to  make  a  jury-mast  out  of 
a  yard  in  case  of  emergency  ;  he  must  be  a  sempstress,  to 
darn  and  mend  the  sails  ;  a  ropemaker,  to  twist  marline 
and  Spanish  foxes  ;  a  blacksmith,  to  make  hooks  and  thim 
bles  for  the  blocks  :  in  short,  he  must  be  a  sort  of  Jack  of 
all  trades,  in  order  to  master  his  own.  And  this,  perhaps, 
in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  is  pretty  much  the  case  with  all 
things  else ;  for  you  know  nothing  till  you  know  all ;  which 
is  the  reason  we  never  know  any  thing. 

A  sailor,  also,  in  working  at  the  rigging,  uses  special  tools 
peculiar  to  his  calling — -fids,  serving-mallets,  toggles,  prick 
ers,  marlingspikes,  palms,  heavers,  and  many  more.  The 
smaller  sort  he  generally  carries  with  him  from  ship  to  ship 
in  a  sort  of  canvas  reticule. 

The  estimation  in  which  a  ship's  crew  hold  the  knowledge 
of  such  accomplishments  as  these,  is  expressed  in  the  phrase 
they  apply  to  one  who  is  a  clever  practitioner.  To  distin 
guish  such  a  mariner  from  those  who  merely  "  Jiand,  reef, 
and  steer"  that  is,  run  aloft,  furl  sails,  haul  ropes,  and 
stand  at  the  wheel,  they  say  he  is  "a  sailor-man;"  which 
means  that  he  not  only  knows  how  to  reef  a  topsail,  but  is 
an  artist  in  the  rigging. 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  157 

Now,  alas !  I  had  no  chance  given  me  to  become  initiated 
in  this  art  and  mystery ;  no  further,  at  least,  than  by  looking 
on,  and  watching  how  that  these  things  might  be  done  as 
well  as  others.  The  reason  was,  that  I  had  only  shipped 
for  this  one  voyage  in  the  Highlander,  a  short  voyage  too  ; 
and  it  was  not  worth  while  to  teach  me  any  thing,  the  fruit 
of  which  instructions  could  be  only  reaped  by  the  next  ship 
I  might  belong  to.  All  they  wanted  of  me  was  the  good 
will  of  my  muscles,  and  the  use  of  my  backbone — compara 
tively  small  though  it  was  at  that  time — by  way  of  a  lever, 
for  the  above-mentioned  artists  to  employ  when  wanted. 
Accordingly,  when  any  embroidery  was  going  on  in  the  rig 
ging,  I  was  set  to  the  most  inglorious  avocations  ;  as  in  the 
merchant  service  it  is  a  religious  maxim  to  keep  the  hands 
always  employed  at  something  or  other,  never  mind  what, 
during  their  watch  on  deck. 

Often  furnished  with  a  club-hammer,  they  swung  me  over 
the  bows  in  a  bowline,  to  pound  the  rust  off  the  anchor :  a 
most  monotonous,  and  to  me  a  most  uncongenial  and  irksome 
business.  There  was  a  remarkable  fatality  attending  the 
various  hammers  I  carried  over  with  me.  Somehow  they 
would  drop  out  of  my  hands  into  the  sea.  But  the  supply 
of  reserved  hammers  seemed  unlimited  :  also  the  blessings 
and  benedictions  I  received  from  the  chief  mate  for  my 
clumsiness. 

At  other  times,  they  set  me  to  picking  oakum,  like  a  con 
vict,  which  hempen  business  disagreeably  obtruded  thoughts 
of  halters  and  the  gallows ;  or  whittling  belaying-pins,  like 
a  Down-Easter. 

However,  I  endeavored  to  bear  it  all  like  a  young  philos 
opher,  and  whiled  away  the  tedious  hours  by  gazing  through 
a  port-hole  while  my  hands  were  plying,  and  repeating  Lord 
Byron's  Address  to  the  Ocean,  which  I  had  often  spouted  on 
the  stage  at  the  High  School  at  home. 

Yes,  I  got  used  to  all  these  matters,  and  took  most  things 
coolly,  in  the  spirit  of  Seneca  and  the  stoics. 


158  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


All  but  the  "  turning  out"  or  rising  from  your  "berth 
when  the  watch  was  called  at  night — that  I  never  fancied. 
It  was  a  sort  of  acquaintance,  which  the  more  I  cultivated, 
the  more  I  shrunk  from ;  a  thankless,  miserable  business, 
truly. 

Consider  that  after  walking  the  deck  for  four  full  hours, 
you  go  below  to  sleep  :  and  while  thus  innocently  employed 
in  reposing  your  wearied  limbs,  you  are  started  up — it  seerns 
but  the  next  instant  after  closing  your  lids — and  hurried  on 
deck  again,  into  the  same  disagreeably  dark  and,  perhaps, 
stormy  night,  from  which  you  descended  into  the  forecastle. 

The  previous  interval  of  slumber  was  almost  wholly  lost 
to  me ;  at  least  the  golden  opportunity  could  not  be  appre 
ciated  :  for  though  it  is  usually  deemed  a  comfortable  thing 
to  be  asleep,  yet  at  the  time  no  one  is  conscious  that  he 
is  so  enjoying  himself.  Therefore  I  made  a  little  private 
arrangement  with  the  Lancashire  lad,  who  was  in  the  other 
watch,  just  to  step  below  occasionally,  and  shake  me,  and 
whisper  in  my  ear — "Watch  below,  Buttons;  watch  below" 
— which  pleasantly  reminded  me  of  the  delightful  fact. 
Then  I  would  turn  over  on  my  side,  and  take  another  nap ; 
and  in  this  manner  I  enjoyed  several  complete  watches  in 
my  bunk  to  the  other  sailors'  one.  I  recommend  the  plan 
to  all  landsmen  contemplating  a  voyage  to  sea. 

But  notwithstanding  all  these  contrivances,  the  dreadful 
sequel  could  not  be  avoided.  Eight  bells  would  at  last  be 
struck,  and  the  men  on  deck,  exhilarated  by  the  prospect  of 
changing  places  with  us,  would  call  the  watch  in  a  most 
provokingly  mirthful  and  facetious  style. 

As  thus  : — 

"  Starboard  watch,  ahoy !  eight  bells  there,  below !  Tum 
ble  up,  my  lively  hearties ;  steamboat  alongside  waiting  for 
your  trunks :  bear  a  hand,  bear  a  hand  with  your  knee- 
buckles,  my  sweet  and  pleasant  fellows  !  fine  shower-bath 
here  on  deck.  Hurrah,  hurrah !  your  ice-cream  is  getting 
cold !" 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  159 

Whereupon  some  of  the  old  croakers  who  were  getting 
into  their  trowsers  would  reply  with — "  Oh,  stop  your  gabble, 
will  you  ?  don't  be  in  such  a  hurry,  now.  You  feel  sweet, 
don't  you  ?"  with  other  exclamations,  some  of  which  were 
full  of  fury. 

And  it  was  not  a  little  curious  to  remark,  that  at  the 
expiration  of  the  ensuing  watch,  the  tables  would  be  turned ; 
and  we  on  deck  became  the  wits  and  jokers,  and  those  below 
the  grizzly  bears  and  growlers. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

HE   GETS   A   PEEP   AT   IRELAND,    AND   AT   LAST  ARRIVES   AT 
LIVERPOOL. 

THE  Highlander  was  not  a  grayhound,  not  a  very  fast 
sailer  ;  and  so,  the  passage,  which  some  of  the  packet  ships 
make  in  fifteen  or  sixteen  days,  employed  us  about  thirty. 

At  last,  one  morning  I  came  on  deck,  and  they  told  me 
that  Ireland  was  in  sight. 

Ireland  in  sight !  A  foreign  country  actually  visible  !  I 
peered  hard,  but  could  see  nothing  but  a  bluish,  cloud-like 
spot  to  the  northeast.  Was  that  Ireland  ?  Why,  there 
was  nothing  remarkable  about  that ;  nothing  startling.  If 
that's  the  way  a  foreign  country  looks,  I  might  as  well  have 
staid  at  home. 

Now  what,  exactly,  I  had  fancied  the  shore  would  look 
like,  I  can  not  say ;  but  I  had  a  vague  idea  that  it  would 
be  something  strange  and  wonderful.  However,  there  it 
was  ;  and  as  the  light  increased  and  the  ship  sailed  nearer 
and  nearer,  the  land  began  to  magnify,  and  I  gazed  at  it 
with  increasing  interest. 

Ireland  !  I  thought  of  Robert  Emmet,  and  that  last  speech 
of  his  before  Lord  Norbury  ;  I  thought  of  Tommy  Moore, 
and  his  amatory  verses  ;  I  thought  of  Curran,  Grattan,  Plun- 
ket,  and  O'Connell ;  I  thought  of  my  uncle's  ostler,  Patrick 
Flinnigan  ;  and  I  thought  of  the  shipwreck  of  the  gallant 
Albion,  tost  to  pieces  on  the  very  shore  now  in  sight ;  and  I 
thought  I  should  very  much  like  to  leave  the  ship  and  visit 
Dublin  and  the  Giant's  Causeway. 

Presently  a  fishing-boat  drew  near,  and  I  rushed  to  get  a 
view  of  it ;  but  it  was  a  very  ordinary  looking  boat,  bobbing 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  161 

up  and  down,  as  any  other  boat  would  have  done  ;  yet,  when 
I  considered  that  the  solitary  man  in  it  was  actually  a  born 
native  of  the  land  in  sight ;  that  in  all  probability  he  had 
never  been  in  America,  and  knew  nothing  about  my  friends 
at  home,  I  began  to  think  that  he  looked  somewhat 
strange. 

He  was  a  very  fluent  fellow,  and  as  soon  as  we  were 
within  hailing  distance,  cried  out — "  Ah,  my  fine  sailors, 
from  Ameriky,  ain't  ye,  my  beautiful  sailors  ?"  And  con 
cluded  by  calling  upon  us  to  stop  and  heave  a  rope.  Think 
ing  he  might  have  something  important  to  communicate,  the 
mate  accordingly  backed  the  main  yard,  and  a  rope  being 
thrown,  the  stranger  kept  hauling  in  upon  it,  and  coiling  it 
down,  crying,  "  pay  out  !  pay  out.  my  honeys  ;  ah  !  but 
you're  noble  fellows  !"  Till  at  last  the  mate  asked  him  why 
he  did  not  come  alongside,  adding,  "  Haven't  you  enough 
rope  yet  ?" 

"  Sure  and  I  have,"  replied  the  fisherman,  "  and  it's  time 
for  Pat  to  cut  and  run  !"  and  so  saying,  his  knife  severed 
the  rope,  and  with  a  Kilkenny  grin,  he  sprang  to  his  tiller, 
put  his  little  craft  before  the  wind,  and  bowled  away  from 
us,  with  some  fifteen  fathoms  of  our  tow-line. 

"  And  may  the  Old  Boy  hurry  after  you,  and  hang  you 
in  your  stolen  hemp,  you  Irish  blackguard  !"  cried  the  mate, 
shaking  his  fist  at  the  receding  boat,  after  recovering  from 
his  first  fit  of  amazement. 

Here,  then,  was  a  beautiful  introduction  to  the  eastern 
hemisphere  ;  fairly  robbed  before  striking  soundings.  This 
trick  upon  experienced  travelers  certainly  beat  all  I  had  ever 
heard  about  the  wooden  nutmegs  and  bass-wood  pumpkin 
seeds  of  Connecticut.  And  I  thought  if  there  were  any 
more  Hibernians  like  our  friend  Pat,  the  Yankee  peddlers 
might  as  well  give  it  up. 

The  next  land  we  saw  was  Wales.  It  was  high  noon, 
and  a  long  line  of  purple  mountains  lay  like  banks  of  clouds 
against  the  east. 


162  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


Could  this  be  really  Wales  ? — Wales  ? — and  I  thought 
of  the  Prince  of  Wales. 

And  did  a  real  queen  with  a  diadem  reign  over  that  very 
land  I  was  looking  at,  with  the  identical  eyes  in  my  own 
head  ? — And  then  I  thought  of  a  grandfather  of  mine,  who 
had  fought  against  the  ancestor  of  this  queen  at  Bunker's  Hill. 

But,  after  all,  the  general  effect  of  these  mountains  was 
mortifyingly  like  the  general  effect  of  the  Kaatskill  Mount 
ains  on  the  Hudson  River. 

With  a  light  breeze,  we  sailed  on  till  next  day,  when  we 
made  Holy  head  and  Anglesea.  Then  it  fell  almost  calm, 
and  what  little  wind  we  had,  was  ahead  ;  so  we  kept  tack 
ing  to  and  fro,  just  gliding  through  the  water,  and  always 
hovering  in  sight  of  a  snow-white  tower  in  the  distance, 
which  might  have  been  a  fort,  or  a  light-house.  I  lost  my 
self  in  conjectures  as  to  what  sort  of  people  might  be  tenant 
ing  that  lonely  edifice,  and  whether  they  knew  any  thing 
about  us. 

The  third  day,  with  a  good  wind  over  the  taffrail,  we 
arrived  so  near  our  destination,  that  we  took  a  pilot  at  dusk. 

He,  and  every  thing  .connected  with  him  were  very 
different  from  our  New  York  pilot.  In  the  first  place,  the 
pilot  boat  that  brought  him  was  a  plethoric  looking  sloop- 
rigged  boat,  with  flat  bows,  that  went  wheezing  through  the 
water ;  quite  in  contrast  to  the  little  gull  of  a  schooner,  that 
bade  us  adieu  off  Sandy  Hook. 

Aboard  of  her  were  ten  or  twelve  other  pilots,  fellows 
with  shaggy  brows,  and  muffled  in  shaggy  coats,  who  sat 
grouped  together  on  deck  like  a  fire-side  of  bears,  wintering 
in  Aroostook.  They  must  have  had  fine  sociable  times, 
though,  together ;  cruising  about  the  Irish  Sea  in  quest  of 
Liverpool-bound  vessels  ;  smoking  cigars,  drinking  brandy- 
and- water,  and  spinning  yarns  ;  till  at  last,  one  by  one,  they 
are  all  scattered  on  board  of  different  ships,  and  meet  again 
by  the  side  of  a  blazing  sea-coal  fire  in  some  Liverpool  tap 
room,  and  prepare  for  another  yachting. 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  163 

Now,  when  this  English  pilot  boarded  us,  I  stared  at  him 
as  if  he  had  been  some  wild  animal  just  escaped  from  the 
Zoological  Gardens ;  for  here  was  a  real  live  Englishman, 
just  from  England.  Nevertheless,  as  he  soon  fell  to  order 
ing  us  here  and  there,  and  swearing  vociferously  in  a 
language  quite  familiar  to  me  ;  I  began  to  think  him  very 
common-place,  and  considerable  of  a  bore  after  all. 

After  running  till  about  midnight,  we  "  hove-to"  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Mersey  ;  and  next  morning,  before  day-break, 
took  the  first  of  the  flood  ;  and  with  a  fair  wind,  stood  into 
the  river ;  which,  at  its  mouth,  is  quite  an  arm  of  the  sea. 
Presently,  in  the  misty  twilight,  we  passed  immense  buoys, 
and  caught  sight  of  distant  objects  on  shore,  vague  and 
shadowy  shapes,  like  Ossian's  ghosts. 

As  I  stood  leaning  over  the  side,  and  trying  to  summon 
up  some  image  of  Liverpool,  to  see  how  the  reality  would 
answer  to  my  conceit ;  and  while  the  fog,  and  mist,  and 
gray  dawn  were  investing  every  thing  with  a  mysterious 
interest,  I  was  startled  by  the  doleful,  dismal  sound  of  a 
great  bell,  whose  slow  intermitting  tolling  seemed  in  unison 
with  the  solemn  roll  of  the  billows.  I  thought  I  had  never 
heard  so  boding  a  sound  ;  a  sound  that  seemed  to  speak  of 
judgment  and  the  resurrection,  like  belfry-mouthed  Paul  of 
Tarsus. 

It  was  not  in  the  direction  of  the  shore  ;  but  seemed  to 
come  out  of  the  vaults  of  the  sea,  and  out  of  the  mist  and  fog. 

Who  was  dead,  and  what  could  it  be  ? 

I  soon  learned  from  my  ship-mates,  that  this  was  the 
famous  Bell-Buoy,  which  is  precisely  what  its  name  im 
plies  ;  and  tolls  fast  or  slow,  according  to  the  agitation  of 
the  waves.  In  a  calm,  it  is  dumb  ;  in  a  moderate  breeze, 
it  tolls  gently;  but  in  a  -gale,  it  is  an  alarum  like  the 
tocsin,  warning  all  mariners  to  flee.  But  it  seemed  fuller 
of  dirges  for  the  past,  than  of  monitions  for  the  future  ;  and 
no  one  can  give  ear  to  it,  without  thinking  of  the  sailors 
who  sleep  far  beneath  it  at  the  bottom  of  the  deep. 


164  -         REDBURN: 


As  we  sailed  ahead  the  river  contracted.  The  day  came, 
and  soon,  passing  two  ]ofty  land-marks  on  the  Lancashire 
shore,  we  rapidly  drew  near  the  town,  and  at  last,  came  to 
anchor  in  the  stream. 

Looking  shoreward,  I  beheld  lofty  ranges  of  dingy  ware 
houses,  which  seemed  very  deficient  in  the  elements  of  the 
marvelous  ;  and  bore  a  most  unexpected  resemblance  to  the 
ware-houses  along  South-street  in  New  York.  There  was 
nothing  strange  ;  nothing  extraordinary  about  them.  There 
they  stood  ;  a  row  of  calm  and  collected  ware-houses ;  very 
good  and  substantial  edifices,  doubtless,  and  admirably  adapted 
to  the  ends  had  in  view  by  the  builders ;  but  plain,  matter- 
of-fact  ware-houses,  nevertheless,  and  that  was  all  that  could 
be  said  of  them. 

To  be  sure,  I  did  not  expect  that  every  house  in  Liverpool 
must  be  a  Leaning  Tower  of  Pisa,  or  a  Strasbourg  Cathe 
dral  ;  but  yet,  these  edifices  I  must  confess,  were  a  sad  and 
bitter  disappointment  to  me. 

But  it  was  different  with  Larry  the  whaleman ;  who  to 
my  surprise,  looking  about  him  delighted,  exclaimed,  "  Why, 
this  'ere  is  a  considerable  place — I'm  dutntned  if  it  ain't 
quite  a  place. — Why,  them  'ere  houses  is  considerable  houses. 
It  beats  the  coast  of  Afriky,  all  hollow  ;  nothing  like  this 
in  Madagasky,  I  tell  you  ; — I'm  dummed,  boys,  if  Liver 
pool  ain't  a  city  !" 

Upon  this  occasion,  indeed,  Larry  altogether  forgot  his 
hostility  to  civilization.  Having  been  so  long  accustomed 
to  associate  foreign  lands  with  the  savage  places  of  the  In 
dian  Ocean,  he  had  been  under  the  impression,  that  Liver 
pool  must  be  a  town  of  bamboos,  situated  in  some  swamp, 
and  whose  inhabitants  turned  their  attention  principally  to 
the  cultivation  of  log- wood  and  curing  of  flying-fish.  For 
that  any  great  commercial  city  existed  three  thousand  miles 
from  home,  was  a  thing,  of  which  Larry  had  never  before 
had  a  "  realizing  sense"  He  was  accordingly  astonished 
and  delighted ;  and  began  to  feel  a  sort  of  consideration  for 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  165 

the  country  which  could  boast  so  extensive  a  town.  In 
stead  of  holding  Queen  Victoria  on  a  par  with  the  Queen 
of  Madagascar,  as  he  had  been  accustomed  to  do  ;  he  ever 
after  alluded  to  that  lady  with  feeling  and  respect. 

As  for  the  other  seamen,  the  sight  of  a  foreign  country 
seemed  to  kindle  no  enthusiasm  in  them  at  all :  no  emotion 
in  the  least.  They  looked  round  them  with  great  presence 
of  mind,  and  acted  precisely  as  you  or  I  would,  if,  after  a 
morning's  absence  round  the  corner,  we  found  ourselves  re 
turning  home.  Nearly  all  of  them  had  made  frequent  voy 
ages  to  Liverpool. 

Not  long  after  anchoring,  several  boats  came  off;  and 
from  one  of  them  stept  a  neatly -dressed  and  very  respect 
able-looking  woman,  some  thirty  years  of  age,  I  should 
think,  carrying  a  bundle.  Coming  forward  among  the  sail 
ors,  she  inquired  for  Max  the  Dutchman,  who  immediately 
was  forthcoming,  and  saluted  her  by  the  mellifluous  appella 
tion  of  Sally. 

Now  during  the  passage,  Max  in  discoursing  to  me  of 
Liverpool,  had  often  assured  me,  that  that  city  had  the 
honor  of  containing  a  spouse  of  his ;  and  that  in  all  proba 
bility,  I  would  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  her.  But  hav 
ing  heard  a  good  many  stories  about  the  bigamies  of  seamen, 
and  their  having  wives  and  sweethearts  in  every  port,  the 
round  world  over  ;  and  having  been  an  eye-witness  to  a 
nuptial  parting  between  this  very  Max  and  a  lady  in  New 
York  ;  I  put  down  this  relation  of  his,  for  what  I  thought 
it  might  reasonably  be  worth.  What  was  my  astonish 
ment,  therefore,  to  see  this  really  decent,  civil  woman  com 
ing  with  a  neat  parcel  of  Max's  shore  clothes,  all  washed,  plait 
ed,  and  ironed,  and  ready  to  put  on  at  a  moment's  warning. 

They  stood  apart  a  few  moments  giving  loose  to  those 
transports  of  pleasure,  which  always  take  place,  I  suppose, 
between  man  and  wife  after  long  separations. 

At  last,  after  many  earnest  inquiries  as  to  how  he  had 
behaved  himself  in  New  York ;  and  concerning  the  state 


166  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


of  his  wardrobe  ;  and  going  down  into  the  forecastle,  and 
inspecting  it  in  person,  Sally  departed  ;  having  exchanged 
her  bundle  of  clean  clothes  for  a  bundle  of  soiled  ones,  and 
this  was  precisely  what  the  New  York  wife  had  done  for 
Max,  not  thirty  days  previous. 

So  long  as  we  laid  in  port,  Sally  visited  the  Highlander 
daily  ;  and  approved  herself  a  neat  and  expeditious  getter- 
up  of  duck  frocks  and  trowsers,  a  capital  tailoress,  and  as 
far  as  I  could  see,  a  very  well-behaved,  discreet,  and  reput 
able  woman. 

But  from  all  I  had  seen  of  her,  I  should  suppose  Meg, 
the  New  York  wife,  to  have  been  equally  well-behaved,  dis 
creet,  and  reputable ;  and  equally  devoted  to  the  keeping  in 
good  order  Max's  wardrobe. 

And  when  we  left  England  at  last,  Sally  bade  Max  good- 
by,  just  as  Meg  had  done  ;  and  when  we  arrived  at  New 
York,  Meg  greeted  Max  precisely  as  Sally  had  greeted  him 
in  Liverpool.  Indeed,  a  pair  of  more  amiable  wives  never 
belonged  to  one  man ;  they  never  quarreled,  or  had  so  much 
as  a  difference  of  any  kind ;  the  whole  broad  Atlantic  being 
between  them ;  and  Max  was  equally  polite  and  civil  to 
both.  For  many  years,  he  had  been  going  Liverpool  and 
New  York  voyages,  plying  between  wife  and  wife  with 
great  regularity,  and  sure  of  receiving  a  hearty  domestic 
welcome  on  either  side  of  the  ocean. 

Thinking  this  conduct  of  his,  however,  altogether  wrong 
and  every  way  immoral,  I  once  ventured  to  express  to  him 
my  opinion  on  the  subject.  But  I  never  did  so  again.  He 
turned  round  on  me,  very  savagely  ;  and  after  rating  me 
soundly  for  meddling  in  concerns  not  my  own,  concluded  by 
asking  me  triumphantly,  whether  old  King  Sol,  as  he  call 
ed  the  son  of  David,  did  not  have  a  whole  frigate-full  of 
wives ;  and  that  being  the  case,  whether  he,  a  poor  sailor, 
did  not  have  just  as  good  a  right  to  have  two  ?  "  What 
was  not  wrong  then,  is  right  now,"  said  Max ;  "so,  mind 
your  eye,  Buttons,  or  I'll  crack  your  pepper-box  for  you  !" 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

HE  GOES  TO  SUPPER  AT  THE  SIGN  OP  THE  BALTIMORE  CLIPPER. 

IN  the  afternoon  our  pilot  was  all  alive  with  his  orders  ; 
we  hove  up  the  anchor,  and  after  a  deal  of  pulling,  and 
hauling,  and  jamming  against  other  ships,  we  wedged  our 
way  through  a  lock  at  high  tide ;  and  about  dark,  succeeded 
in  working  up  to  a  berth  in  Prince's  Dock.  The  hawsers 
and  tow-lines  being  then  coiled  away,  the  crew  were  told  to 
go  ashore,  select  their  boarding-house,  and  sit  down  to  supped. 

Here  it  must  be  mentioned,  that  owing  to  the  strict  but 
necessary  regulations  of  the  Liverpool  docks,  no  fires  of  any 
kind  are  allowed  on  board  the  vessels  within  them  ;  and 
hence,  though  the  sailors  are  supposed  to  sleep  in  the  fore 
castle,  yet  they  must  get  their  meals  ashore,  or  live  upon 
cold  potatoes.  To  a  ship,  the  American  merchantmen 
adopt  the  former  plan ;  the  owners,  of  course,  paying  the 
landlord's  bill ;  which,  in  a  large  crew  remaining  at  Liver 
pool  more  than  six  weeks,  as  we  of  the  Highlander  did, 
forms  no  inconsiderable  item  in  the  expenses  of  the  voyage. 
Other  ships,  however — the  economical  Dutch  and  Danish, 
for  instance,  and  sometimes  the  prudent  Scotch — feed  their 
luckless  tars  in  dock,  with  precisely  the  same  fare  which  they 
give  them  at  sea  ;  taking  their  salt  junk  ashore  to  be  cooked, 
which,  indeed,  is  but  scurvy  sort  of  treatment,  since  it  is 
very  apt  to  induce  the  scurvy.  A  parsimonious  proceeding 
like  this  is  regarded  with  immeasurable  disdain  by  the  crews 
of  the  New  York  vessels^  who,  if  their  captains  treated  them 
after  that  fashion,  would  soon  bolt  and  run. 

It  was  quite  dark,  when  we  all  sprang  ashore ;  and,  for 
the  first  time,  I  felt  dusty  particles  of  the  renowned  British 


168  REDBURN: 


soil  penetrating  into  my  eyes  and  lungs.  As  for  stepping 
on  it,  that  was  out  of  the  question,  in  the  well-paved  and 
flagged  condition  of  the  streets  ;  and  I  did  not  have  an  op 
portunity  to  do  so  till  some  time  afterward,  when  I  got  out 
into  the  country  ;  and  then,  indeed,  I  saw  England,  and 
snuffed  its  immortal  loam — but  not  till  then. 

Jackson  led  the  van ;  and  after  stopping  at  a  tavern,  took 
us  up  this  street,  and  down  that,  till  at  last  he  brought  us  to 
a  narrow  lane,  filled  with  boarding-houses,  spirit-vaults,  and 
sailors.  Here  we  stopped  before  the  sign  of  a  Baltimore 
Clipper,  flanked  on  one  side  by  a  gilded  bunch  of  grapes  and 
a  bottle,  and  on  the  other  by  the  British  Unicorn  and  Amer 
ican  Eagle,  lying  down  by  each  other,  like  the  lion  and 
lamb  in  the  millenium. — A  very  judicious  and  tasty  device, 
showing  a  delicate  apprehension  of  the  propriety  of  conciliat 
ing  American  sailors  in  an  English  boarding-house  ;  and  yet 
in  no  way  derogating  from  the  honor  and  dignity  of  England, 
but  placing  the  two  nations,  indeed,  upon  a  footing  of  perfect 
equality. 

Near  the  unicorn  was  a  very  small  animal,  which  at  first 
I  took  for  a  young  unicorn ;  but  it  looked  more  like  a  year 
ling  lion.  It  was  holding  up  one  paw,  as  if  it  had  a  splinter 
in  it ;  and  on  its  head  was  a  sort  of  basket-hilted,  low- 
crowned  hat,  without  a  rim.  I  asked  a  sailor  standing 
by,  what  this  animal  meant,  when,  looking  at  me  with 
a  grin,  he  answered,  "  Why,  youngster,  don't  you  know 
what  that  means  ?  It's  a  young  jackass,  limping  off  with 
a  kedgeree  pot  of  rice  out  of  the  cuddy." 

Though  it  was  an  English  boarding-house,  it  was  kept  by 
a  broken-down  American  mariner,  one  Danby,  a  dissolute, 
idle  fellow,  who  had  married  a  buxom  English  wife,  and 
now  lived  upon  her  industry ;  for  the  lady,  and  not  the  sailor, 
proved  to  be  the  head  of  the  establishment. 

She  was  a  hale,  good-looking  woman,  about  forty  years 
old,  and  among  the  seamen  went  by  the  name  of  "  Hand 
some  Mary."  But  though,  from  the  dissipated  character  of 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  169 

her  spouse,  Mary  had  become  the  business  personage  of  the 
house,  bought  the  marketing,  overlooked  the  tables,  and  con 
ducted  all  the  more  important  arrangements,  yet  she  was 
by  no  means  an  Amazon  to  her  husband,  if  she  did  play  a 
masculine  part  in  other  matters.  No  ;  and  the  more  is  the 
pity,  poor  Mary  seemed  too  much  attached  to  Danby,  to 
seek  to  rule  him  as  a  termagant.  Often  she  went  about  her 
household  concerns  with  the  tears  in  her  eyes,  when,  after  a 
fit  of  intoxication,  this  brutal  husband  of  hers  had  been  beat 
ing  her.  The  sailors  took  her  part,  and  many  a  time  volun 
teered  to  give  him  a  thorough  thrashing  before  her  eyes ;  but 
Mary  would  beg  them  not  to  do  so,  as  Danby  would,  no 
doubt,  be  a  better  boy  next  time. 

But  there  seemed  no  likelihood  of  this,  so  long  as  that 
abominable  bar  of  his  stood  upon  the  premises.  As  you 
entered  the  passage,  it  stared  upon  you  on  one  side,  ready  to 
entrap  all  guests. 

It  was  a  grotesque,  old-fashioned,  castellated  sort  of  a 
sentry-box,  made  of  a  smoky-colored  wood,  and  with  a  grat 
ing  in  front,  that  lifted  up  like  a  portcullis.  And  here 
would  this  Danby  sit  all  the  day  long;  and  when  customers 
grew  thin,  would  patronize  his  own  ale  himself,  pouring 
down  mug  after  mug,  as  if  he  took  himself  for  one  of  his  own 
quarter-casks. 

Sometimes  an  old  crony  of  his,  one  Bob  Still,  would  come 
in ;  and  then  they  would  occupy  the  sentry-box  together,  and 
swill  their  beer  in  concert.  This  pot-friend  of  Danby  was 
portly  as  a  dray-horse,  and  had  a  round,  sleek,  oily  head, 
twinkling  eyes,  and  moist  red  cheeks.  He  was  a  lusty 
troller  of  ale-songs ;  and,  with  his  mug  in  his  hand,  would 
lean  his  waddling  bulk  partly  out  of  the  sentry-box,  singing  : 

"  No  frost,  no  snow,  no  wind,  I  trow, 

Can  hurt  me  if  I  wold, 
I  am  so  wrapt,  and  thoroughly  lapt 

In  jolly  good  ale  and  old, — 
I  stuff  my  skin  so  full  within, 

Of  jolly  good  ale  and  old." 

H 


170  REDBURiN: 


Or  this, — 

"  Your  wines  and  brandies  I  detest, 
Here's  richer  juice  from  barley  press'd. 
It  is  the  quintescence  of  malt, 
And  they  that  drink  it  want  no  salt. 
Come,  then,  quick  come,  and  take  this  beer, 
And  water  henceforth  you'll  forswear." 

Alas !  Handsome  Mary.  What  avail  all  thy  private 
tears  and  remonstrances  with  the  incorrigible  Danby,  so  long 
as  that  brewery  of  a  toper,  Bob  Still,  daily  eclipses  thy 
threshhold  with  the  vast  diameter  of  his  paunch,  and  en 
thrones  himself  in  the  sentry-box,  holding  divided  rule  with 
thy  spouse  ? 

The  more  he  drinks,  the  fatter  and  rounder  waxes  Bob ; 
and  the  songs  pour  out  as  the  ale  pours  in,  on  the  well- 
known  principle,  that  the  air  in  a  vessel  is  displaced  and 
expelled,  as  the  liquid  rises  higher  and  higher  in  it. 

But  as  for  Danby,  the  miserable  Yankee  grows  sour  on 
good  cheer,  and  dries  up  the  thinner  for  every  drop  of  fat 
ale  he  imbibes.  It  is  plain  and  demonstrable,  that  much 
ale  is  not  good  for  Yankees,  and  operates  differently  upon 
them  from  what  it  does  upon  a  Briton :  ale  must  be  drank 
in  a  fog  and  a  drizzle. 

Entering  the  sign  of  the  Clipper,  Jackson  ushered  us  into 
a  small  room  on  one  side,  and  shortly  after,  Handsome  Mary 
waited  upon  us  with  a  courtesy,  and  received  the  compliments 
of  several  old  guests  among  our  crew.  She  then  disappeared 
to  provide  our  supper.  While  my  shipmates  were  now  en 
gaged  in  tippling,  and  talking  with  numerous  old  acquaint 
ances  of  theirs  in  the  neighborhood,  who  thronged  about  the 
door,  I  remained  alone  in  the  little  room,  meditating  pro 
foundly  upon  the  fact,  that  I  was  now  seated  upon  an  En 
glish  bench,  under  an  English  roof,  in  an  English  tavern, 
forming  an  integral  part  of  the  English  empire.  It  was  a 
staggering  fact,  but  none  the  less  true. 

I  examined  the  place  attentively ;  it  was  a  long,  narrow, 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  171 

little  room,  with  one  small  arched  window  with  red  curtains, 
looking  out  upon  a  smoky,  untidy  yard,  bounded  by  a  dingy 
brick- wall,  the  top  of  which  was  horrible  with  pieces  of 
broken  old  bottles,  stuck  into  mortar. 

A  dull  lamp  swung  overhead,  placed  in  a  wooden  ship 
suspended  from  the  ceiling.  The  walls  were  covered  with 
a  paper,  representing  an  endless  succession  of  vessels  of  all 
nations  continually  circumnavigating  the  apartment.  By 
way  of  a  pictorial  mainsail  to  one  of  these  ships,  a  map  was 
hung  against  it,  representing  in  faded  colors  the  flags  of  all 
nations.  From  the  street  came  a.  confused  uproar  of  ballad- 
singers,  bawling  women,  babies,  and  drunken  sailors. 

And  this  is  England  ? 

But  where  are  the  old  abbeys,  and  the  York  Minsters, 
and  the  lord  mayors,  and  coronations,  and  the  May-poles, 
and  fox-hunters,  and  Derby  races,  and  the  dukes  and  duch 
esses,  and  the  Count  cTOrsays,  which,  from  all  my  reading, 
I  had  been  in  the  habit  of  associating  with  England  ?  Not 
the  most  distant  glimpse  of  them  was  to  be  seen. 

Alas  !  Wellingborough,  thought  I,  I  fear  you  stand  but 
a  poor  chance  to  see  the  sights.  You  are  nothing  but  a 
poor  sailor  boy  ;  and  the  Queen  is  not  going  to  send  a  depu 
tation  of  noblemen  to  invite  you  to  St.  James's. 

It  was  then,  I  began  to  see,  that  my  prospects  of  seeing 
the  world  as  a  sailor  were,  after  all,  but  very  doubtful ;  for 
sailors  only  go  round  the  world,  without  going  into  it ;  and 
their  reminiscences  of  travel  are  only  a  dim  recollection  of 
a  chain  of  tap-rooms  surrounding  the  globe,  parallel  with  the 
Equator.  They  but  touch  the  perimeter  of  the  circle  ;  hover 
about  the  edges  of  terra-firma  ;  and  only  land  upon  wharves 
and  pier-heads.  They  would  dream  as  little  of  traveling  inland 
to  see  Kenil worth,  or  Blenheim  Castle,  as  they  would  of  sending 
a  card  overland  to  the  Pope,  when  they  torched  at  Naples. 

From  these  reveries  I  was  soon  roused,  by  a  servant  girl 
hurrying  from  room  to  room,  in  shrill  tones  exclaiming, 
"  Supper,  supper  ready." 


172  REDBURN: 


Mounting  a  rickety  staircase,  we  entered  a  room  on  the 
second  floor.  Three  tall  brass  candlesticks  shed  a  smoky 
light  upon  smoky  walls,  of  what  had  once  "been  sea-blue, 
covered  with  sailor-scrawls  of  foul  anchors,  lovers'  sonnets, 
and  ocean  ditties.  On  one  side,  nailed  against  the  wainscot 
in  a  row,  were  the  four  knaves  of  cards,  each  Jack  putting  his 
best  foot  foremost  as  usual.  What  these  signified  I  never  heard. 

But  such  ample  cheer  !  Such  a  groaning  table  !  Such 
a  superabundance  of  solids  and  substantial  !  Was  it  pos 
sible  that  sailors  fared  thus  ? — the  sailors,  who  at  sea  live 
upon  salt  beef  and  biscuit  ? 

First  and  foremost,  was  a  mighty  pewter  dish,  big  as 
Achilles'  shield,  sustaining  a  pyramid  of  smoking  sausages. 
This  stood  at  one  end ;  midway  was  a  similar  dish,  heavily 
laden  with  farmers'  slices  of  head-cheese ;  and  at  the  oppo 
site  end,  a  congregation  of  beef-steaks,  piled  tier  over  tier. 
Scattered  at  intervals  between,  were  side  dishes  of  boiled 
potatoes,  eggs  by  the  score,  bread,  and  pickles  ;  and  on  a 
stand  adjoining,  was  an  ample  reserve  of  every  thing  on  the 
supper  table. 

We  fell  to  with  all  our  hearts  ;  wrapt  ourselves  in  hot 
jackets  of  beef-steaks ;  curtailed  the  sausages  with  great 
celerity ;  and  sitting  down  before  the  head-cheese,  soon  razed 
it  to  its  foundations. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  entertainment,  I  suggested  to 
Peggy,  one  of  the  girls  who  had  waited  upon  us,  that  a  cup 
of  tea  would  be  a  nice  thing  to  take  ;  and  I  would  thank 
her  for  one.  She  replied  that  it  was  too  late  for  tea ;  but 
she  would  get  me  a  cup  of  "  swipes"  if  I  wanted  it. 

Not  knowing  what  "swipes"  might  be,  I  thought  I  would 
run  the  risk  and  try  it ;  but  it  proved  a  miserable  beverage, 
with  a  musty,  sour  flavor,  as  if  it  had  been  a  decoction  of 
spoiled  pickles.  I  never  ^patronized  sivipes  again ;  but  gave 
it  a  wide  berth ;  though,  at  dinner  afterward,  it  was  fur 
nished  to  an  unlimited  extent,  and  drunk  by  most  of  my 
shipmates,  who  pronounced  it  good. 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.        .  173 

But  Bob  Still  would  not  have  pronounced  it  so  ;  for  this 
sivipes,  as  I  learned,  was  a  sort  of  cheap  substitute  for  beer  ; 
or  a  bastard  kind  of  beer  ;  or  the  washings  and  rinsings  of 
old  beer-barrels.  But  I  do  not  remember  now  what  they 
said  it  was,  precisely.  I  only  know,  that  swipes  was  my 
abomination.  As  for  the  taste  of  it,  I  can  only  describe  it 
as  answering  to  the  name  itself;  which  is  certainly  signifi 
cant  of  something  vile.  But  it  is  drunk  in  large  quantities 
by  the  poor  people  about  Liverpool,  which,  perhaps,  in  some 
degree,  accounts  for  their  poverty. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

REDBURN    DEFERENTIALLY    DISCOURSES     CONCERNING     THE 
PROSPECTS    OF    SAILORS. 

THE  ship  remained  in  Prince's  Dock  over  six  weeks ;  but 
as  I  do  not  mean  to  present  a  diary  of  my  stay  there,  I  shall 
here  simply  record  the  general  tenor  of  the  life  led  by  our 
crew  during  that  interval ;  and  will  then  proceed  to  note 
down,  at  random,  my  own  wanderings  about  town,  and  im 
pressions  of  things  as  they  are  recalled  to  me  now,  after  the 
lapse  of  so  many  years; 

But  first,  I  must  mention  that  we  saw  little  of  the  captain 
during  our  stay  in  the  dock.  Sometimes,  cane  in  hand,  he 
sauntered  down  of  a  pleasant  morning  from  the  Arms  Hotel, 
I  believe  it  was,  where  he  boarded ;  and  after  lounging  about 
the  ship,  giving  orders  to  his  Prime  Minister  and  Grand 
Vizier,  the  chief  mate,  he  would  saunter  back  to  his  draw 
ing-rooms. 

From  the  glimpse  of  a  play-bill,  which  I  detected  peeping 
out  of  his  pocket,  I  inferred  that  he  patronized  the  theaters ; 
and  from  the  flush  of  his  cheeks,  that  he  patronized  the  fine 
old  Port  wine,  for  which  Liverpool  is  famous. 

Occasionally,  however,  he  spent  his  nights  on  board ;  and 
mad,  roystering  nights  they  were,  such  as  rare  Ben  Jonson 
would  have  delighted  in.  For  company  over  the  cabin-table, 
he  would  have  four  or  five  whiskered  sea-captains,  who  kept 
the  steward  drawing  corks  and  filling  glasses  all  the  time. 
Arid  once,  the  whole  company  were  found  under  the  table 
at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  were  put  to  bed  and 
tucked  in  by  the  two  mates.  Upon  this  occasion,  I  agreed 
with  our  woolly  Doctor  of  Divinity,  the  black  cook,  that  they 


'__    _J&        HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  175 

should  have  been  ashamed  of  themselves  ;  but  there  is  no 
shame  in  some  sea-captains,  who  only  blush  after  the  third 
bottle. 

During  the  many  visits  of  Captain  Riga  to  the  ship,  he 
always  said  something  courteous  to  a  gentlemanly,  friendless 
custom-house  officer,  who  staid  on  board  of  us  nearly  all  the 
time  we  lay  in  the  dock. 

And  weary  days  they  must  have  been  to  this  friendless 
custom-house  officer ;  tryirig  to  kill  time  in  the  cabin  with 
a  newspaper ;  and  rapping  on  the  transom  with  his  knuckles. 
He  was  kept  on  board  to  prevent  smuggling ;  but  he  used 
to  smuggle  himself  ashore  very  often,  when,  according  to 
law,  he  should  have  been  at  his  post  on  board  ship.  But 
no  wonder;  he  seemed  to  be  a  man  of  fine  feelings,  alto 
gether  above  his  situation ;  a  most  inglorious  one,  indeed ; 
worse  than  driving  geese  to  water. 

And  now,  to  proceed  with  the  crew. 

At  daylight,  all  hands  were  called,  and  the  decks  were 
washed  down ;  then  we  had  an  hour  to  go  ashore  to  break 
fast  ;  after  which  we  worked  at  the  rigging,  or  picked  oak 
um,  or  were  set  to  some  employment  or  other,  never  mind 
how  trivial,  till  twelve  o'clock,  when  we  went  to  dinner.  At 
half-past  one  we  resumed  work ;  and  finally  knocked  off  at 
four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  unless  something  particular 
was  in  hand.  And  after  four  o'clock,  we  could  go  where  we 
pleased,  and  were  not  required  to  be  on  board  again  till  next 
morning  at  daylight. 

As  we  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  cargo,  of  course,  our 
duties  were  light  enough  ;  and  the  chief  mate  was  often  put 
to  it  to  devise  some  employment  for  us. 

We  had  no  watches  to  stand,  a  ship-keeper,  hired  from  shore, 
relieving  us  from  that ;  and  all  the  while  the  men's  wages  ran 
on,  as  at  sea.  Sundays  we  had  to  ourselves. 

Thus,  it  will  be  seen,  that  the  life  led  by  sailors  of  Ameri 
can  ships  in  Liverpool,  is  an  exceedingly  easy  one,  and  abound 
ing  in  leisure.  They  live  ashore  on  the  fat  of  the  land  ;  and 


176  REDBURN: 


after  a  little  wholesome  exercise  in  the  morning,  have  the  rest 
of  the  day  to  themselves. 

Nevertheless,  these  Liverpool  voyages,  likewise  those  to 
London  and  Havre,  are  the  least  profitable  that  an  improv 
ident  seaman  can  take.  Because,  in  New  York  he  receives 
his  month's  advance  ;  in  Liverpool,  another  ;  both  of  which, 
in  most  cases,  quickly  disappear ;  so  that  by  the  time  his 
voyage  terminates,  he  generally  has  but  little  coming  to  him  ; 
sometimes  not  a  cent.  Whereas,  upon  a  long  voyage,  say  to 
India  or  China,  his  wages  accumulate  ;  he  has  more  induce 
ments  to  economize,  and  far  fewer  motives  to  extravagance ; 
and  when  he  is  paid  off  at  last,  he  goes  away  jingling  a 
quart  measure  of  dollars. 

Besides,  of  all  sea-ports  in  the  world,  Liverpool,  perhaps, 
most  abounds  in  all  the  variety  of  land-sharks,  land-rats, 
and  other  vermin,  which  make  the  hapless  mariner  their 
prey.  In  the  shape  of  landlords,  bar-keepers,  clothiers,  crimps, 
and  boarding-house  loungers,  the  land-sharks  devour  him,  limb 
by  limb ;  while  the  land-rats  and  mice  constantly  nibble  at 
his  purse. 

Other  perils  he  runs,  also,  far  worse ;  from  the  denizens 
of  notorious  Corinthian  haunts  in  the  vicinity  of  the  docks, 
which  in  depravity  are  not  to  be  matched  by  any  thing  this 
side  of  the  pit  that  is  bottomless. 

And  yet,  sailors  love  this  Liverpool ;  and  upon  long  voyages 
to  distant  parts  of  the  globe,  will  be  continually  dilating  upon 
its  charms  and  attractions,  and  extolling  it  above  all  other 
sea-ports  in  the  world.  For  in  Liverpool  they  find  their 
Paradise— not  the  well  known  street  of  that  name — and 
one  of  them  told  me  he  would  be  content  to  lie  in  Prince's 
Dock  till  he  hove  up  anchor  for  the  world  to  come. 

Much  is  said  of  ameliorating  the  condition  of  sailors ;  but 
it  must  ever  prove  a  most  difficult  endeavor,  so  long  as  the 
antidote  is  given  before  the  bane  is  removed. 

Consider,  that,  with  the  majority  of  them,  the  very  fact 
of  their  being  sailors,  argues  a  certain  recklessness  and  sen- 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  177 

sualism  of  character,  ignorance,  and  depravity  ;  consider  that 
they  are  generally  friendless  and  alone  in  the  world  ;  or  if 
they  have  friends  arid  relatives,  they  are  almost  constantly 
beyond  the  reach  of  their  good  influences  ;  consider  that 
after  the  rigorous  discipline,  hardships,  dangers,  and  priva 
tions  of  a  voyage,  they  are  set  adrift  in  a  foreign  port,  and 
exposed  to  a  thousand  enticements,  which,  under  the  circum 
stances,  would  be  hard  even  for  virtue  itself  to  withstand,  un 
less  virtue  went  about  on  crutches ;  consider  that  by  their 
very  vocation  they  are  shunned  by  the  better  classes  of 
people,  and  cut  off  from  all  access  to  respectable  and  im 
proving  society  ;  consider  all  this,  and  the  reflecting  nu'nd 
must  very  soon  perceive  that  the  case  of  sailors,  as  a  class, 
is  not  a  very  promising  one. 

Indeed,  the  bad  things  of  their  condition  come  under  the 
head  of  those  chronic  evils  which  can  only  be  ameliorated,  it 
would  seem,  by  ameliorating  the  moral  organization  of  all 
civilization.  '"  v^ 

Though  old  seventy-fours  and  old  frigates  are  converted 
into  chapels,  and  launched  into  the  docks ;  though  the 
"Boatswain's  Mate"  and  other  clever  religious  tracts  in  the 
nautical  dialect  are  distributed  among  them  ;  though  clergy 
men  harangue  them  from  the  pier-heads  :  and  chaplains  in 
the  navy  read  sermons  to  them  on  the  gun-deck  ;  though 
evangelical  boarding-houses  are  provided  for  them;  though 
the  parsimony  of  ship-owners  has  seconded  the  really  sincere 
and  pious  efforts  of  Temperance  Societies,  to  take  away 
from  seamen  their  old  rations  of  grog  while  at  sea  : — not 
withstanding  all  these  things,  and  many  more,  the  relative 
condition  of  the  great  bulk  of  sailors  to  the  rest  of  man 
kind,  seems  to  remain  pretty  much  where  it  was,  a  century 
ago. 

It  is  too  much  the  custom,  perhaps,  to  regard  as  a  special 
advance,  that  unavoidable,  and  merely  participative  progress, 
which  any  one  class  makes  in  sharing  the  general  movement 
of  the  race.  Thus,  because  the  sailor,  who  to-day  steers  the 

H* 


178  REDBURN: 


Hibernia  or  Unicorn  steam-ship  across  the  Atlantic,  is  a 
somewhat  different  man  from  the  exaggerated  sailors  of 
Smollett,  and  the  men  who  fought  with  Nelson  at  Copen 
hagen,  and  survived  to  riot  themselves  away  at  North 
Corner  in  Plymouth ; — because  the  modern  tar  is  not  quite 
so  gross  as  heretofore,  and  has  shaken  off  some  of  his  shaggy 
jackets,  and  docked  his  Lord  Pvodney  queue  : — therefore,  in 
the  estimation  of  some  observers,  he  has  begun  to  see  the 
evils  of  his  condition,  and  has  voluntarily  improved.  But 
upon  a  closer  scrutiny,  it  will  be  seen  that  he  has  but  drifted 
along  with  that  great  tide,  which,  perhaps,  has  two  flows 
for  one  ebb ;  he  has  made  no  individual  advance  of  his 
own. 

There  are  classes  of  men  in  the  world,  who  bear  the  same 
relation  to  society  at  large,  that  the  wheels  do  to  a  coach  : 
and  are  just  as  indispensable.  But  however  easy  and  de 
lectable  the  springs  upon  which  the  insiders  pleasantly 
vibrate  :,  however  sumptuous  the  hammer-cloth,  and  glossy 
the  door-panels  ;  yet,  for  all  this,  the  wheels  must  still  revolve 
in  dusty,  or  muddy  revolutions.  No  contrivance,  no  sagacity 
can  lift  them  out  of  the  mire  ;  for  upon  something  the  coach 
must  be  bottomed  ;  on  something  the  insiders  must  roll. 

Now,  sailors  form  one  of  these  wheels :  they  go  and  come 
round  the  globe  ;  they  are  the  true  importers,  and  exporters 
of  spices  and  silks  ;  of  fruits  and  wines  and  marbles ;  they 
carry  missionaries,  embassadors,  opera-singers,  armies,  mer 
chants,  tourists,  scholars  to  their  destination  :  they  are  a 
bridge  of  boats  across  the  Atlantic  ;  they  are  the  primum 
mobile  of  all  commerce  ;  and,  in  short,  were  they  to  emigrate 
in  a  body  to  man  the  navies  of  the  moon,  almost  every  thing 
would  stop  here  on  earth  except  its  revolution  on  its  axis, 
and  the  orators  in  the  American  Congress. 

And  yet,  what  are  sailors  ?  What  in  your  heart  do  you 
think  of  that  fellow  staggering  along  the  dock  ?  Do  you  not 
give  him  a  wide  berth,  shun  him,  and  account  him  but  little 
above  the  brutes  that  perish  ?  Will  yon  throw  open  your 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  179 

parlors  to  him ;  invite  him  to  dinner  ?  or  give  him  a  season 
ticket  to  your  pew  in  church  ? — No.  You  will  do  no  such 
thing  ;  but  at  a  distance,  you  will  perhaps  subscribe  a  dollar 
or  two  for  the  building  of  a  hospital,  to  accommodate  sailors 
already  broken  down ;  or  for  the  distribution  of  excellent 
books  among  tars  who  can  not  read.  And  the  very  mode 
and  manner  in  which  such  charities  are  made,  bespeak,  more 
than  words,  the  low  estimation  in  which  sailors  are  held. 
It  is  useless  to  gainsay  it ;  they  are  deemed  almost  the 
refuse  and  offscourings  of  the  earth  ;  and  the  romantic  view 
of  them  is  principally  had  through  romances. 

But  can  sailors,  one  of  the  wheels  of  this  world,  be  wholly 
lifted  up  from  the  mire  ?  There  seems  not  much  chance  for 
it,  in  the  old  systems  and  programmes  of  the  future,  however 
well-intentioned  and  sincere  ;  for  with  such  systems,  the 
thought  of  lifting  them  up  seems  almost  as  hopeless  as  that 
of  growing  the  grape  in  Nova  Zembla. 

But  we  must  not  altogether  despair  for  the  sailor ;  nor 
need  those  who  toil  for  his  good  be  at  bottom  disheartened. 
For  Time  must  prove  his  friend  in  the  end ;  and  though 
sometimes  he  would  almost  seem  as  a  neglected  step-son  of 
heaven,  permitted  to  run  on  and  riot  out  his  days  with  no 
hand  to  restrain  him,  while  others  are  watched  over  and 
tenderly  cared  for ;  yet  we  feel  and  we  know  that  God  is 
the  true  Father  of  all,  and  that  none  of  his  children  are 
without  the  pale  of  his  care. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

REDBURN   GROWS  INTOLERABLY  FLAT   AND   STUPID   OVER   SOME 
OUTLANDISH   OLD   GUIDE-BOOKS. 

AMONG  the  odd  volumes  in  my  father's  library,  was  a 
collection  of  old  European  and  English  guide-books,  which 
he  had  bought  on  his  travels,  a  great  many  years  ago.  In 
my  childhood,  I  went  through  many  courses  of  studying 
them,  and  never  tired  of  gazing  at  the  numerous  quaint 
embellishments  and  plates,  and  staring  at  the  strange  title- 
pages,  some  of  which  I  thought  resembled  the  mustached 
faces  of  foreigners. 

Among  others  was  a  Parisian-looking,  faded,  pink-covered 
pamphlet,  the  rouge  here  and  there  effaced  upon  its  now 
thin  and  attenuated  cheeks,  entitled,  "Voyage  Descriptif  et 
Philosophique  de  E Ancien  et  du  Nouveau  Paris:  Miroir 
Fidele ;"  also  a  time-darkened,  mossy  old  book,  in  marbleized 
binding,  much  resembling  verd-antique,  entitled,  <  *  Itineraire 
Instructifde  Rome,  ou  Description  Generate  des  Monumens 
Antiques  et  Modernes  et  des  Ouvrages  les  plus  Remarqua- 
Ues  de  Peinteur,  de  Sculpture,  et  de  Architecture  de  cette 
Celebre  Ville;"  on  the  russet  title-page  is  a  vignette  repre 
senting  a  barren  rock,  partly  shaded  by  a  scrub-oak  (a  forlorn 
bit  of  landscape),  and  under  the  lee  of  the  rock  and  the 
shade  of  the  tree,  maternally  reclines  the  houseless  foster- 
mother  of  Romulus  and  Remus,  giving  suck  to  the  illustrious 
twins ;  a  pair  of  naked  little  cherubs  sprawling  on  the  ground, 
with  locked  arms,  eagerly  engaged  at  their  absorbing  occu 
pation  ;  a  large  cactus-leaf  or  diaper  hangs  from  a  bough, 
and  the  wolf  looks  a  good  deal  like  one"  of  the  no-horn  breed 
of  barn-yard  cows ;  the  work  is  published  "Avec  privilege 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  181 

du  Souverain  Pontife."  There  was  also  a  velvet-bound 
old  volume,  in  brass  clasps,  entitled,  "  The  Conductor  through 
Holland,"  with  a  plate  of  the  Stadt  House;  also  a  venerable 
"Picture  of  London"  abounding  in  representations  of  St. 
Paul's,  the  Monument,  Temple-Bar,  Hyde-Park-Corner,  the 
Horse  Guards,  the  Admiralty,  Charing-Cross,  and  Vauxhall 
Bridge.  Also,  a  bulky  book,  in  a  dusty-looking  yellow  cover, 
reminding  one  of  the  paneled  doors  of  a  mail-coach,  and 
bearing  an  elaborate  title-page,  full  of  printer's  flourishes,  in 
emulation  of  the  cracks  of  a  four-in-hand  whip,  entitled,  in 
part,  "The  Great  Roads,  both  direct  and  cross,  throughout 
England  and  Wales,  from  an  actual  Admeasurement  by 
order  of  His  Majesty's  Postmaster-  General :  This  work 
describes  the  Cities,  Market  and  Borough  and  Corporate 
Towns,  and  those  at  which  the  Assizes  are  held,  and  gives 
the  time  of  the  Mails'  arrival  and  departure  from  each : 
Describes  the  Inns  in  the  Metropolis  from  which  the  stages 
go,  and  the  Inns  in  the  country  which  supply  post-horses 
and  carriages :  Describes  the  Noblemen  and  Gentlemen's 
Seats  situate  near  the  Road,  ivith  Maps  of  the  Environs 
of  London,  Bath,  Brighton,  and  Margate."  It  is  dedicated 
"  To  the  Right  Honorable  the  Earls  of  Chesterfield  and 
Leicester,  by  their  Lordships'  Most  Obliged,  Obedient,  and 
Obsequious  Servant,  John  Cary,  1798."  Also  a  green 
pamphlet,  with  a  motto  from  Virgil,  and  an  intricate  coat 
of  arms  on  the  cover,  looking  like  a  diagram  of  the  Labyrinth 
of  Crete,  entitled,  "A  Description  of  York,  its  Antiquities 
and  Public  Buildings,  particularly  the  Cathedral ;  com 
piled  with  great  pains  from  the  most  authentic  records." 
Also  a  small  scholastic-looking  volume,  in  a  classic  vellum 
binding,  and  with  a  frontispiece  bringing  together  at  one 
view  the  towers  and  turrets  of  King's  College  and  the  mag 
nificent  Cathedral  of  Ely,  though  geographically  sixteen  miles 
apart,  entitled,  "  The  Cambridge  Guide:  its  Colleges,  Halls, 
Libraries,  and  Museums,  with  the  Ceremonies  of  the  Town 
and  University,  and  some  account  of  Ely  Cathedral" 


188  RED  BURN: 


Also  a  pamphlet,  with  a  japaned  sort  of  cover,  stamped  with 
a  disorderly  higgledy-piggledy  group  of  pagoda-looking  struc 
tures,  claiming  to  be  an  accurate  representation  of  the  "North 
or  Grand  Front  of  Blenheim'"  and  entitled,  "A  Descrip 
tion  of  Blenheim,  the  Seat  of  His  Grace  the  Duke  of 
Marlborough;  containing  a  full  account  of  the  Paintings, 
Tapestry,  and  Furniture  :  a  Picturesque  Tour  of  the 
Gardens  and  Parks,  and  a  General  Description  of  the 
Famous  China  Gallery,  fyc.;  with  an  Essay  on  Land 
scape  Gardening  :  and  embellished  with  a  View  of  the 
Palace,  and  a  New  and  Elegant  Plan  of  the  Great 
Park."  And  lastly,  and  to  the  purpose,  there  was  a  volume 
called  «  THE  PICTURE  OF  LIVERPOOL." 

It  was  a  curious  and  remarkable  book ;  and  from  the 
many  fond  associations  connected  with  it,  I  should  like  to 
immortalize  it,  if  I  could. 

But  let  me  get  it  down  from  its  shrine,  and  paint  it,  if  I 
may,  from  the  life. 

As  I  now  linger  over  the  volume,  to  and  fro  turning  the 
pages  so  dear  to  my  boyhood, — the  very  pages  which,  years 
and  years  ago,  my  father  turned  over  amid  the  very  scenes 
that  are  here  described  ;  what  a  soft,  pleasing  sadness  steals 
over  me,  and  how  I  melt  into  the  past  and  forgotten  ! 

Dear  book  !  I  will  sell  my  Shakspeare,  and  even  sacri 
fice  my  old  quarto  Hogarth,  before  I  will  part  with  you. 
Yes,  I  will  go  to  the  hammer  myself,  ere  I  send  you  to  be 
knocked  down  in  the  auctioneer's  shambles.  I  will,  my  be 
loved, — old  family  relic  that  you  are ; — till  you  drop  leaf 
from  leaf,  and  letter  from  letter,  you  shall  have  a  snug  shelf 
somewhere,  though  I  have  no  bench  for  myself. 

In  size,  it  is  what  the  booksellers  call  an  ISmo ;  it  is 
bound  in  green  morocco,  which  from  my  earliest  recollection 
has  been  spotted  and  tarnished  with  time ;  the  corners  are 
marked  with  triangular  patches  of  red,  like  little  cocked 
hats ;  and  some  unknown  Goth  has  inflicted  an  incurable 
wound  upon  the  back.  There  is  no  lettering  outside  ;  so 


HIS  FIRST  VOYAGE.  183 

that  he  who  lounges  past  my  humble  shelves,  seldom  dreams 
of  opening  the  anonymous  little  book  in  green.  There  it 
stands ;  day  after  day,  week  after  week,  year  after  year ; 
and  no  one  but  myself  regards  it.  But  I  make  up  for  all 
neglects,  with  my  own  abounding  love  for  it. 

But  let  us  open  the  volume. 

What  are  these  scrawls  in  the  fly-leaves  ?  what  incorrig 
ible  pupil  of  a  writing-master  has  been  here  ?  what  crayon 
sketched  of  wild  animals  and  falling  air-castles  ?  Ah,  no  ! 
— these  are  all  part  and  parcel  of  the  precious  book,  which 
go  to  make  up  the  sum  of  its  treasure  to  me. 

Some  of  the  scrawls  are  my  own  ;  and  as  poets  do  with 
their  juvenile  sonnets,  I  might  write  under  this  horse, 
"  Drawn  at  the  age  of  three  years"  and  under  this  auto 
graph,  "  Executed  at  the  age  of  eight.'" 

Others  are  the  handiwork  of  my  brothers,  and  sisters, 
and  cousins ;  and  the  hands  that  sketched  some  of  them  are 
now  moldered  away. 

But  what  does  this  anchor  here  ?  this  ship  ?  and  this 
sea-ditty  of  Dibdin's  ?  The  book  must  have  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  some  tarry  captain  of  a  forecastle.  No  :  that 
anchor,  ship,  and  Dibdin's  ditty  are  mine  ;  this  hand  drew 
them ;  and  on  this  very  voyage  to  Liverpool.  But  not  so 
fast ;  I  did  not  mean  to  tell  that  yet. 

Full  in  the  midst  of  these  pencil  scrawlings,  completely 
surrounded  indeed,  stands  in  indelible,  though  faded  ink,  and 
in  my  father's  hand-writing,  the  following  : — 

WALTER  EEDBURN. 

Riddough's  Royal  Hotel, 
Liverpool,  March  20th,  1808. 

Turning  over  that  leaf,  I  come  upon  some  half-effaced 
miscellaneous  memoranda  in  pencil,  characteristic  of  a 
methodical  mind,  and  therefore  indubitably  my  father's, 
which  he  must  have  made  at  various  times  during  his  stay 
in  Liverpool.  These  are  full  of  a  strange,  subdued,  old, 
midsummer  interest  to  me  :  and  though,  from  the  numerous 


184  REDBURN: 


effacements,  it  is  much  like  cross-reading  to  make  them  out ; 
yet,  I  must  here  copy  a  few  at  random  : — 

£  s.     d. 

Guide-Book         .          .      lw;   >Vv       •  3     6 

Dinner  at  the  Star  and  Garter     .      ^:..  10 

Trip  to  Preston  (distance  '31m.)     .          .2  6      3 

Gratuities  .          .       ^v;J:>    &•<    ^*r--  4 

Hack  .          .       .;>-Xc  •:•> :.-.->  >V'-       .  4      6 

Thompson's  Seasons     .          ....          .  5 

Library      .          .  -t-      .          .          .        ,  •  •          1 

e  river          ....  6 

awdf  cigars  .          .          .          .  4 

And  on  the  opposite  page,  I  can  just  decipher  the  follow 
ing : 

Dine  with  Mr.  Roscoe  on  Monday. 

Call  upon  Mr.  Worille  same  day. 

Leave  card  at  Colonel  Digby's  on  Tuesday. 

Theatre  Friday  night — Richard  III.  and  new  farce. 

Present  letter  at  Miss  L 's  on  Tuesday. 

Call  on  Sampson  fy  Wilt,  Friday. 
Get  my  draft  on  London  cashed. 
Write  home  by  the  Princess. 
Letter  bag  cCt  Sampson  and  Wilt's. 

Turning  over  the  next  leaf,  I  unfold  a  map,  which  in  the 
midst  of  the  British  Arms,  in  one  corner  displays  in  sturdy 
text,  that  this  is  "  A  Plan  of  the  Town  of  Liverpool."  But 
there  seems  little  plan  in  the  confined  and  crooked  looking 
marks  for  the  streets,  and  the  docks  irregularly  scattered 
along  the  bank  of  the  Mersey,  which  flows  along,  a  peaceful 
stream  of  shaded  line  engraving. 

On  the  northeast  corner  of  the  map,  lies  a  level  Sahara 
of  yellowish  white  :  a  desert,  which  still  bears  marks  of  my 
zeal  in  endeavoring  to  populate  it  with  all  manner  of  uncouth 
monsters  in  crayons.  The  space  designated  by  that  spot  is 
now,  doubtless,  completely  built  up  in  Liverpool. 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  185 

Traced  with  a  pen,  I  discover  a  number  of  dotted  lines, 
radiating  in  all  directions  from  the  foot  of  Lord-street,  where 
stands  marked  "  Riddough's  Hotel"  the  house  my  father 
stopped  at. 

These  marks  delineate  his  various  excursions  in  the  town ; 
and  I  follow  the  lines  on,  through  street  and  lane ;  and 
across  hroad  squares ;  and  penetrate  with  them  into  the 
narrowest  courts. 

By  these  marks,  I  perceive  that  my  father  forgot  not  his 
religion  in  a  foreign  land  ;  but  attended  St.  John's  Church 
near  the  Hay-market,  and  other  places  of  public  worship  :  I 
see  that  he  visited  the  News  Room  in  Duke-street,  the 
Lyceum  in  Bold-street,  and  the  Theater  Royal ;  and  that 
he  called  to  pay  his  respects  to  'the  eminent  Mr.  Roscoe,  the 
historian,  poet,  and  banker. 

Reverentially  folding  this  map,  I  pass  a  plate  of  the 
Town  Hall,  and  come  upon  the  Title  Page,  which,  in  the 
middle,  is  ornamented  with  a  piece  of  landscape,  representing 
a  loosely  clad  lady  in  sandals,  pensively  seated  upon  a  bleak 
rock  on  the  sea  shore,  supporting  her  head  with  one  hand, 
and  with  the  other,  exhibiting  to  the  stranger  an  oval  sort 
of  salver,  bearing  the  figure  of  a  strange  bird,  with  this 
motto  elastically  stretched  for  a  border — "  Deus  nobis  hcec 
otia  fecit." 

The  bird  forms  part  of  the  city  arms,  and  js  an  imaginary 
representation  of  a  now  extinct  fowl,  called  the  "  Liver" 
said  to  have  inhabited  a  "pool,"  which  antiquarians  assert 
once  covered  a  good  part  of  the  ground  where  Liverpool  now 
stands;  and  from  that  bird,  and  this  pool,  Liverpool  derives 
its  name. 

At  a  distance  from  the  pensive  lady  in  sandals,  is  a  ship 
under  full  sail ;  and  on  the  beach  is  the  figure  of  a  small 
man,  vainly  essaying  to  roll  over  a  huge  bale  of  goods. 

Equally  divided  at  the  top  and  bottom  of  this  design,  is 
the  following  title  complete ;  but  I  fear  the  printer  will  not 
be  able  to  give  a  fac-simile  : — 


186  REDBURN: 


The 
Picture 

of 
Liverpool : 

or, 

Stranger's  Guide 

and 

Gentleman's  Pocket  Companion 
FOR  THE  TOWN. 

Embellished 

With  Engravings 

By  the  Most  Accomplished  and  Eminent  Artists. 

Liverpool : 

Printed  in  Swift's  Court, 
And  sold  by  Woodward  and  Alderson,  56  Castle  St. 

1803. 

A  brief  and  reverential  preface,  as  if  the  writer  were  all 
the  time  bowing,  informs  the  reader  of  the  flattering  recep 
tion  accorded  to  previous  editions  of  the  work  ;  and  quotes 
"  testimonies  of  respect  which  had  lately  appeared  in  various 
quarters — the  British  Critic,  Review,  and  the  seventh  vol 
ume  of  the  Beauties  of  England  and  Wales" — and  con 
cludes  by  expressing  the  hope,  that  this  new,  revised,  and 
illustrated  edition  might  "  render  it  less  unworthy  of  the 
public  notice,  and  less  unworthy  also  of  the  subject  it  is 
intended  to  illustrate." 

A  very  nice,  dapper,  and  respectful  little  preface,  the  time 
and  place  of  writing  which  is  solemnly  recorded  at  the  end 
— Hope  Place,  1st  Sept.  1803. 

But  how  much  fuller  my  satisfaction,  as  I  fondly  linger 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  137 

over  this  circumstantial  paragraph,  if  the  writer  had  re 
corded  the  precise  hour  of  the  day,  and  by  what  time-piece ; 
and  if  he  had  but  mentioned  his  age,  occupation,  and  name. 

But  all  is  now  lost ;  I  know  not  who  he  was ;  and  this 
estimable  author  must  needs  share  the  oblivious  fate  of  all 
literary  incognitos. 

He  must  have  possessed  the  grandest  and  most  elevated 
ideas  of  true  fame,  since  he  scorned  to  be  perpetuated  by  a 
solitary  initial.  Could  I  find  him  out  now,  sleeping  neglected 
in  some  churchyard,  I  would  buy  him  a  head-stone,  and  re 
cord  upon  it  naught  but  his  title-page,  deeming  that  his 
noblest  epitaph. 

After  the  preface,  the  book  opens  with  an  extract  from  a 
prologue  written  by  the  excellent  Dr.  Aiken,  the  brother  of 
Mrs.  Barbauld,  upon  the  opening  of  the  Theater  Royal, 
Liverpool,  in  1772: — 

"  Where  Mersey's  stream,  long  winding  o'er  the  plain, 
Pours  his  full  tribute  to  the  circling  main, 
Ji  band  of  fishers  chose  their  humble  seat  / 
Contented  labor  blessed  the  fair  retreat. 
Inured  to  hardship,  patient,  bold,  and  rude, 
They  braved  the  billows  for  precarious  food  : 
Their  straggling  huts  were  ranged  along  the  shore, 
Their  nets  and  little  boats  their  only  store." 

Indeed,  throughout,  the  work  abounds  with  quaint  poetical 
quotations,  and  old-fashioned  classical  allusions  to  the  ^Eneid 
and  Falconer's  Shipwreck. 

And  the  anonymous  author  must  have  been  not  only  a 
scholar  and  a  gentleman,  but  a  man  of  gentle  disinterested 
ness,  combined  with  true  city  patriotism ;  for  in  his  "  Survey 
of  the  Town"  are  nine  thickly  printed  pages  of  a  neglected 
poem  by  a  neglected  Liverpool  poet. 

By  way  of  apologizing  for  what  might  seem  an  obtrusion 
upon  the  public  of  so  long  an  episode,  he  courteously  and 
feelingly  introduces  it  by  saying,  that  "  the  poem  has  now 
for  several  years  been  scarce,  and  is  at  present  but  little 
known  ;  and  hence  a  very  small  portion  of  it  will  no  doubt 


188  REDBURN: 


be  highly  acceptable  to  the  cultivated  reader  ;  especially  as 
this  noble  epic  is  written  with  great  felicity  of  expression 
and  the  siveetest  delicacy  of  feeling." 

Once,  but  once  only,  an  uncharitable  thought  crossed  my 
mind,  that  the  author  of  the  Guide-Book  might  have  been  the 
author  of  the  epic.  But  that  was  years  ago  ;  and  I  have 
never  since  permitted  so  uncharitable  a  reflection  to  insinuate 
itself  into  my  mind. 

This  epic,  from  the  specimen  before  me,  is  composed  in 
the  old  stately  style,  and  rolls  along  commanding  as  a  coach 
and  four.  It  sings  of  Liverpool  and  the  Mersey  ;  its  docks, 
and  ships,  and  warehouses,  and  bales,  and  anchors;  and  after 
descanting  upon  the  abject  times,  when  "  his  noble  waves, 
inglorious,  Mersey  rolled"  the  poet  breaks  forth  like  all 
Parnassus  with  :  — 

"  Now  o'er  the  wondering  world  her  name  resounds, 
From  northern  climes  to  India's  distant  bounds  — 
Where'er  his  shores  the  broad  Atlantic  waves; 
Where'er  the  Baltic  rolls  his  wintry  waves  ; 
Where'er  the  honored  flood  extends  his  tide, 
That  clasps  Sicilia  like  a  favored  bride. 
Greenland  for  her  its  bulky  whale  resigns, 
And  temperate  Gallia  rears  her  generous  vines  : 
'Midst  warm  Iberia  citron  orchards  blow, 
Jind  the  ripe  fruitage  bends  the  laboring  bough  ; 
In  every  clime  her  prosperous  fleets  are  known, 
She  makes  the  wealth  of  every  clime  her  own." 

It  also  contains  a  delicately-curtained  allusion  to  Mr. 
Roscoe  :  — 


"  And  here  JJ^s^o*,  with  genius  all  his  oicn, 
New  tracks  explores,  and  all  before  unknown." 

Indeed,  both  the  anonymous  author  of  the  Guide-Book, 
and  the  gifted  bard  of  the  Mersey,  seem  to  have  nourished 
the  warmest  appreciation  of  the  fact,  that  to  their  be 
loved  town  Boscoe  imparted  a  reputation  which  gracefully 
embellished  its  notoriety  as  a  mere  place  of  commerce.  He 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  189 

is  called  the  modern  Guicciardini  of  the  modern  Florence, 
and  his  histories,  translations,  and,  Italian  Lives,  are  spoken 
of  with  classical  admiratiofi. 

The  first  chapter  begins  in  a  methodical,  business-like 
way,  by  informing  the  impatient  reader  of  the  precise  lati 
tude  and  longitude  of  Liverpool ;  so  that,  at  the  outset,  there 
may  be  no  misunderstanding  on  that  head.  It  then  goes  on 
to  give  an  account  of  the  history  and  antiquities  of  the  town, 
beginning  with  a  record  in  the  Doomsday -Book  of  William 
the  Conqueror. 

Here,  it  must  be  sincerely  confessed,  however,  that  not 
withstanding  his  numerous  other  merits,  my  favorite  author 
betrays  a  want  of  the  uttermost  antiquarian  and  penetrating 
spirit,  which  would  have  scorned  to  stop  in  its  researches  at 
the  reign  of  the  Norman  monarch,  but  would  have  pushed 
on  resolutely  through  the  dark  ages,  up  to  Moses,  the  man 
of  Uz,  and  Adam  ;  and  finally  established  the  fact  beyond  a 
doubt,  that  the  soil  of  Liverpool  was  created  with  the  cre 
ation. 

But,  perhaps,  one  of  the  most  curious  passages  in  the 
chapter  of  antiquarian  research,  is  the  pious  author's  moral 
izing  reflections  upon  an  interesting  fact  he  records  :  to  wit, 
that  in  A.D.  1571,  the  inhabitants  sent  a  memorial  to  Queen 
Elizabeth,  praying  relief  under  a  subsidy,  wherein  they  style 
themselves  "  her  majesty's  poor  decayed  town  of  Liverpool" 

As  I  now  fix  my  gaze  upon  this  faded  and  dilapidated 
old  guide-book,  bearing  every  token  of  the  ravages  of  near 
half  a  century,  and  read  how  this  piece  of  antiquity  enlarges 
like  a  modern  upon  previous  antiquities,  I  am  forcibly  re 
minded  that  the  world  is  indeed  growing  old.  And  when  I 
turn  to  the  second  chapter,  "  On  the  increase  of  the  town,  and 
number  of  inhabitants"  and  then  skim  over  page  after  page 
throughout  the  volume,  all  filled  with  allusions  to  the  im 
mense  grandeur  of  a  place,  which,  since  then,  has  more  than 
quadrupled  in  population,  opulence,  and  splendor,  and  whose 
present  inhabitants  must  look  back  upon  the  period  here 


190  RED  BURN: 


spoken  of  with  a  swelling  feeling  of  immeasurable  superiority 
and  pride,  I  am  filled  with  a  comical  sadness  at  the  vanity 
of  all  human  exaltation.  For  the  cope-stone  of  to-day  is  the 
corner-stone  of  to-morrow  ;  and  as  St.  Peter's  church  was 
built  in  great  part  of  the  ruins  of  old  Pwome,  so  in  all  our 
erections,  however  imposing,  we  but  form  quarries  and  sup 
ply  ignoble  materials  for  the  grander  domes  of  posterity. 

And  even  as  this  old  guide-book  boasts  of  the,  to  us,  insig 
nificant  Liverpool  of  fifty  years  ago,  the  Ne\v  York  guide 
books  are  now  vaunting  of  the  magnitude  of  a  town,  whose 
future  inhabitants,  multitudinous  as  the  pebbles  on  the  beach, 
and  girdled  in  with  high  walls  and  towers,  flanking  endless 
avenues  of  opulence  and  taste,  will  regard  all  our  Broadways 
and  Bowerys  as  but  the  paltry  nucleus  to  their  Nineveh. 
From  far  up  the  Hudson,  beyond  Harlem  River,  where  the 
young  saplings  are  now  growing,  that  will  overarch  their 
lordly  mansions  with  broad  boughs,  centuries  old ;  they  may 
send  forth  explorers  to  penetrate  into  the  then  obscure  and 
smoky  alleys  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  and  Fourteenth-street ;  and 
going  still  farther  south,  may  exhume  the  present  Doric 
Custom-house,  and  quote  it  as  a  proof  that  their  high  and 
mighty  metropolis  enjoyed  a  Hellenic  antiquity. 

As  I  am  extremely  loth  to  omit  giving  a  specimen  of  the 
dignified  style  of  this  «  Picture  of  Liverpool"  so  different 
from  the  brief,  pert,  and  unclerkly  hand-books  to  Niagara 
and  Buffalo  of  the  present  day,  I  shall  now  insert  the  chap 
ter  of  antiquarian  researches;  especially  as  it  is  entertain 
ing  in  itself,  and  affords  much  valuable,  and  perhaps  rare 
information,  which  the  reader  may  need,  concerning  the  fa^ 
mous  town,  to  which  I  made  my  first  voyage.  And  I  think 
that  with  regard  to  a  matter,  concerning  which  I  myself  am 
wholly  ignorant,  it  is  far  better  to  quote  my  old  friend 
verbatim,  than  to  mince  his  substantial  baron-of-beef  of 
information  into  a  flimsy  ragout  of  my  own ;  and  so,  pass  it 
off  as  original.  Yes,  I  will  render  unto  my  honored  guide 
book  its  due. 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  191 

But  how  can  the  printer's  art  so  dim  and  mellow  down 
the  pages  into  a  soft  sunset  yellow;  and  to  the  reader's  eye, 
shed  over  the  type  all  the  pleasant  associations  which  the 
original  carries  to  me ! 

No  !  by  my  father's  sacred  memory,  and  all  sacred  priva 
cies  of  fond  family  reminiscences,  I  will  not !  I  will  not 
quote  thee,  old  Morocco,  before  the  cold  face  of  the  marble- 
hearted  world  ;  for  your  antiquities  would  only  be  skipped 
and  dishonored  by  shallow-minded  readers ;  and  for  me,  I 
should  be  charged  with  swelling  out  my  volume  by  plagiar 
izing  from  a  guide-book — the  most  vulgar  and  ignominious 
of  thefts  ! 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 

s\ 

WITH  HIS  PROSY   OLD  GUIDE-BOOK,   HE    TAKES  A  PROSY  STROLL 
THROUGH   THE    TOWN. 

WHEN  I  left  home,  I  took  the  green  morocco  guide-book 
along,  supposing  that  from  the  great  number  of  ships  going 
to  Liverpool,  I  would  most  probably  ship  on  board  of  one  of 
them,  as  the  event  itself  proved. 

Great  was  my  boyish  delight  at  the  prospect  of  visiting  a 
place,  the  infallible  clew  to  all  whose  intricacies  I  held  in  my 
hand. 

On  the  passage  out  I  studied  its  pages  a  good  deal.  In 
the  first  place,  I  grounded  myself  thoroughly  in  the  history 
and  antiquities  of  the  town,  as  set  forth  in  the  chapter  I 
intended  to  quote.  Then  I  mastered  the  columns  of  statistics, 
touching  the  advance  of  population ;  and  pored  over  them,  as 
I  used  to  do  over  my  multiplication-table.  For  I  was  deter 
mined  to  make  the  whole  subject  my  own ;  and  not  be  con 
tent  with  a  mere  smattering  of  the  thing,  as  is  too  much  the 
custom  with  most  students  of  guide-books.  Then  I  perused 
one  by  one  the  elaborate  descriptions  of  public  edifices,  and 
scrupulously  compared  the  text  with  the  corresponding  en 
graving,  to  see  whether  they  corroborated  each  other.  For 
be  it  known  that,  including  the  map,  there  were  no  less  than 
seventeen  plates  in  the  work.  And  by  often  examining  them, 
I  had  so  impressed  every  column  and  cornice  in  my  mind, 
that  I  had  no  doubt  of  recognizing  the  originals  in  a  moment. 

In  short,  when  I  considered  that  my  own  father  had  used 
this  very  guide-book,  and  that  thereby  it  had  been  thoroughly 
tested,  and  its  fidelity  proved  beyond  a  peradventure ;  I  could 
not  but  think  that  I  was  building  myself  up  in  an  unerring 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  193 

knowledge  of  Liverpool ;  especially  as  I  had  familiarized 
myself  with  the  rnap,  and  could  turn  sharp  corners  on  it, 
with  marvelous  confidence  and  celerity. 

In  imagination,  as  I  lay  in  my  berth  on  ship-board,  I 
used  to  take  pleasant  afternoon  rambles  through  the  town ; 
down  St.  James-street  and  up  Great  George's,  stopping  at 
various  places  of  interest  and  attraction.  I  began  to  think 
I  had  been  born  in  Liverpool,  so  familiar  seemed  all  the 
features  of  the  map.  And  though  some  of  the  streets  there 
depicted  were  thickly  involved,  endlessly  angular  and  crooked, 
like  the  map  of  Boston,  in  Massachusetts,  yet,  I  made  no 
doubt,  that  I  could  march  through  them  in  the  darkest 
night,  and  even  run  for  the  most  distant  dock  upon  a  press 
ing  emergency. 

Dear  delusion  ! 

It  never  occurred  to  my  boyish  thoughts,  that  though  a 
guide-book,  fifty  years  old,  might  have  done  good  service  in 
its  day,  yet  it  would  prove  but  a  miserable  cicerone  to  a 
modern.  I  little  imagined  that  the  Liverpool  my  father 
saw,  was  another  Liverpool  from  that  to  which  I,  his  son 
Wellingborough  was  sailing.  No  ;  these  things  never  ob 
truded  ;  so  accustomed  had  I  been  to  associate  my  old  mo 
rocco  guide-book  with  the  town  it  described,  that  the  bare 
thought  of  there  being  any  discrepancy,  never  entered  my 
mind. 

While  we  lay  in  the  Mersey,  before  entering  the  dock,  I 
got  out  my  guide-book  to  see  how  the  map  would  compare 
with  the  identical  place  itself.  But  they  bore  not  the  slight 
est  resemblance.  However,  thinks  I,  this  is  owing  to  my 
taking  a  horizontal  view,  instead  of  a  bird's-eye  survey.  So, 
never  mind  old  guide-book,  you,  at  least,  are  all  right. 

But  my  faith  received  a  severe  shock  that  same  evening, 
when  the  crew  went  ashore  to  supper,  as  I  have  previously 
related. 

The  men  stopped  at  a  curious  old  tavern,  near  the  Prince's 
Dock's  walls ;  and  having  my  guide-book  in  my  pocket,  I 

I 


194  REDBURN: 

drew  it  forth  to  compare  notes,  when  I  found,  that  precisely 
upon  the  spot  where  I  and  my  shipmates  were  standing,  and 
a  cherry-cheeked  bar-maid  was  filling  their  glasses,  my  infal 
lible  old  Morocco,  in  that  very  place,  located  a  fort ;  add 
ing,  that  it  was  well  worth  the  intelligent  stranger's  while 
to  visit  it  for  the  purpose  of  beholding  the  guard  relieved  in 
the  evening. 

This  was  a  staggerer  ;  for  how  could  a  tavern  be  mis 
taken  for  a  castle  ?  and  this  was  about  the  hour  mentioned 
for  the  guard  to  turn  out ;  yet  not  a  red  coat  was  to  be  seen. 
But  for  all  this,  I  could  not,  for  one  small  discrepancy,  con 
demn  the  old  family  servant  who  had  so  faithfully  served  my 
own  father  before  me  ;  and  when  I  learned  that  this  tavern 
went  by  the  name  of  "  The  Old  Fort  Tavern  ;"  and  when 
I  was  told  that  many  of  the  old  stones  were  yet  in  the  walls, 
I  almost  completely  exonerated  my  guide-book  from  the  half- 
insinuated  charge  of  misleading  me. 

The  next  day  was  Sunday,  and  I  had  it  all  to  myself ; 
and  now,  thought  I,  my  guide-book  and  I  shall  have  a  fa 
mous  ramble  up  street  and  down  lane,  even  unto  the  furthest 
limits  of  this  Liverpool. 

I  rose  bright  and  early  ;  from  head  to  foot  performed  my 
ablutions  "  with  Eastern  scrupulosity,"  and  I  arrayed  my 
self  in  my  red  shirt  and  shooting-jacket,  and  the  sportsman's 
pantaloons  ;  and  crowned  my  entire  man  with  the  tarpaulin  ; 
so  that  from  this  curious  combination  of  clothing,  and  par 
ticularly  from  my  red  shirt,  I  must  have  looked  like  a  very 
strange  compound  indeed  :  three  parts  sportsman,  and  two 
soldier,  to  one  of  the  sailor. 

My  shipmates,  of  course,  made  merry  at  my  appearance ; 
but  I  heeded  them  not ;  and  after  breakfast,  jumped  ashore, 
full  of  brilliant  anticipations. 

My  gait  was  erect,  and  I  was  rather  tall  of  my  age ;  and 
that  may  have  been  the  reason  why,  as  I  was  rapidly  walk 
ing  along  the  dock,  a  drunken  sailor  passing,  exclaimed, 
"  Eyes  right !  quick  step  there .'" 


HIS    FIRST  VOYAGE.  195 

Another  fellow  stopped  me  to  know  whether  I  was  going 
fox-hunting ;  and  one  of  the  dock-police,  stationed  at  the 
gates,  after  peeping  out  upon  me  from  his  sentry  box,  a  snug 
little  den,  furnished  with  benches  and  newspapers,  and  hung 
round  with  storm  jackets  and  oiled  capes,  issued  forth  in  a 
great  hurry,  crossed  my  path  as  I  was  emerging  into  the  street, 
and  commanded  me  to  halt !  I  obeyed  ;  when  scanning 
my  appearance  pertinaciously,  he  desired  to  know  where  I 
got  that  tarpaulin  hat,  not  being  able  to  account  for  the 
phenomenon  of  its  roofing  the  head  of  a  broken-down  fox- 
hunter.  But  I  pointed  to  my  ship,  which  lay  at  no  great 
distance  ;  when  remarking  from  my  voice  that  I  was 
a  Yankee,  this  faithful  functionary  permitted  me  to  pass. 

It  must  be  known  that  the  police  stationed  at  the  gates 
of  the  docks  are  extremely  observant  of  strangers  going  out ; 
as  many  thefts  are  perpetrated  on  board  the  ships ;  and  if 
they  chance  to  see  any  thing  suspicious,  they  probe  into  it 
without  mercy.  Thus,  the  old  men  who  buy  "shakings" 
and  rubbish  from  vessels,  must  turn  their  bags  wrong  side 
out  before  the  police,  ere  they  are  allowed  to  go  outsjde  the 
walls.  And  often  they  will  search  a  suspicious  looking  fel 
low's  clothes,  even  if  he  be  a  very  thin  man,  with  attenuated 
and  almost  imperceptible  pockets. 

But  where  was  I  going  ? 

I  will  tell.  My  intention  was  in  the  first  place,  to  visit 
Riddough's  Hotel,  where  my  father  had  stopped,  more  than 
thirty  years  before  :  and  then,  with  the  map  in  my  hand, 
follow  him  through  all  the  town,  according  to  the  dotted 
lines  in  the  diagram.  For  thus  would  I  be  performing  a 
filial  pilgrimage  to  spots  which  would  be  hallowed  in  my  eyes. 
'  At  last,  when  I  found  myself  going  down  Old  Hall-street 
toward  Lord-street,  where  the  hotel  was  situated,  according 
to  my  authority ;  and  when,  taking  out  my  map,  I  found 
that  Old  Hall-street  was  marked  there,  through  its  whole 
extent  with  my  father's  pen  ;  a  thousand  fond,  affectionate 
emotions  rushed  around  my  heart, 


196  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


Yes,  in  this  very  street,  thought  I,  nay,  on  this  very  flag 
ging  my  father  walked.  Then  I  almost  wept,  when  I 
looked  down  on  my  sorry  apparel,  and  marked  how  the 
people  regarded  me ;  the  men  staring  at  so  grotesque  a  young 
stranger,  and  the  old  ladies,  in  beaver  hats  and  ruffles, 
crossing  the  walk  a  little  to  shun  me. 

How  differently  rny  father  must  have  appeared  ;  perhaps 
in  a  blue  coat,  buff  vest,  and  Hessian  boots.  And  little  did 
he  think,  that  a  son  of  his  would  ever  visit  Liverpool  as  a 
poor  friendless  sailor-boy.  But  I  was  not  born  then  :  no, 
when  he  walked  this  flagging,  I  was  not  so  much  as  thought 
of;  I  was  not  included  in  the  census  of  the  universe.  My 
own  father  did  not  know  me  then  ;  and  had  never  seen,  or 
heard,  or  so  much  as  dreamed  of  me.  And  that  thought 
had  a  touch  of  sadness  to  me  ;  for  if  it  had  certainly  been, 
that  my  own  parent,  at  one  time,  never  cast  a  thought  upon 
me,  how  might  it  be  with  me  hereafter  ?  Poor,  poor 
Wellingborough  !  thought  I,  miserable  boy  ?  you  are  indeed 
friendless  and  forlorn.  Here  you  wander  a  stranger  in  a 
strange  town,  and  the  very  thought  of  your  father's  having 
been  here  before  you,  but  carries  with  it  the  reflection  that, 
he  then  knew  you  not,  nor  cared  for  you  one  whit. 

But  dispelling  these  dismal  reflections  as  well  as  I  could, 
I  pushed  on  my  way,  till  I  got  to  Chapel-street,  which  I 
crossed  ;  and  then,  going  under  a  cloister-like  arch  of  stone, 
whose  gloom  and  narrowness  delighted  me,  and  filled  my 
Yankee  soul  with  romantic  thoughts  of  old  Abbeys  and 
Minsters,  I  emerged  into  the  fine  quadrangle  of  the  Mer 
chants'  Exchange. 

There,  leaning  against  the  colonnade,  I  took  out  my  map, 
and  traced  my  father  right  across  Chapel-street,  and  actually 
through  the  very  arch  at  my  back,  into  the  paved  square 
where  I  stood. 

So  vivid  was  now  the  impression  of  his  having  been  here, 
and  so  narrow  the  passage  from  which  he  had  emerged, 
that  I  felt  like  running  on,  and  overtaking  him  round  the 


HIS   FIRST   VOYAGE.  197 

Town  Hall  adjoining,  at  the  head  of  Castle-street.  But  I 
soon  checked  myself,  when  remembering  that  he  had  gone 
whither  no  son's  search  could  find  him  in  this  world.  And 
then  I  thought  of  all  that  must  have  happened  to  him  since 
he  paced  through  that  arch.  What  trials  and  troubles  he 
had  encountered  ;  how  he  had  been  shaken  by  many  storms 
of  adversity,  and  at  last  died  a  bankrupt.  I  looked  at  my 
own  sorry  garb,  and  had  much  ado  to  keep  from  tears. 

But  I  rallied,  and  gazed  round  at  the  sculptured  stone 
work,  and  turned  to  my  guide-book,  and  looked  at  the  print 
of  the  spot.  It  was  correct  to  a  pillar  ;  but  wanted  the 
central  ornament  of  the  quadrangle.  This,  however,  was 
but  a  slight  subsequent  erection,  which  ought  not  to  militate 
against  the  general  character  of  my  friend  for  comprehen 
siveness. 

The  ornament  in  question  is  a  group  of  statuary  in  bronze, 
elevated  upon  a  marble  pedestal  and  basement,  representing 
Lord  Nelson  expiring  in  the  arms  of  Victory.  One  foot 
rests  on  a  rolling  foe,  and  the  other  on  a  cannon.  Victory 
is  dropping  a  wreath  on  the  dying  admiral's  brow ;  while 
Death,  under  the  similitude  of  a  hideous  skeleton,  is  insinu 
ating  his  bony  hand  under  the  hero's  robe,  and  groping 
after  his  heart.  A  very  striking  design,  and  true  to  the 
imagination ;  I  never  could  look  at  Death  without  a  shudder. 

At  uniform  intervals  round  the  base  of  the  pedestal,  four 
naked  figures  in  chains,  somewhat  larger  than  life,  are  seated 
in  various  attitudes  of  humiliation  and  despair.  One  has 
his  leg  recklessly  thrown  over  his  knee,  and  his  head  bowed 
over,  as  if  he  had  given  up  all  hope  of  ever  feeling  better. 
Another  has  his  head  buried  in  despondency,  and  no  doubt 
looks  mournfully  out  of  his  eyes,  but  as  his  face  was  averted 
at  the  time,  I  could  not  catch  the  expression.  These  woe 
begone  figures  of  captives  are  emblematic  of  Nelson's  princi 
pal  victories  ;  but  I  never  could  look  at  their  swarthy  limbs 
and  manacles,  without  being  involuntarily  reminded  of  four 
African  slaves  in  the  market-place. 


198  REDBURN: 


And  my  thoughts  would  revert  to  Virginia  and  Carolina; 
and  also  to  the  historical  fact,  that  the  African  slave-trade 
once  constituted  the  principal  commerce  of  Liverpool ;  and 
that  the  prosperity  of  the  town  was  once  supposed  to  have 
been  indissolubly  linked  to  its  prosecution.  And  I  remem 
bered  that  my  i'ather  had  often  spoken  to  gentlemen  visiting 
our  house  in  New  York,  of  the  unhappiness  that  the  discus 
sion  of  the  abolition  of  this  trade  had  occasioned  in  Liverpool ; 
that  the  struggle  between  sordid  interest  and  humanity  had 
made  sad  havoc  at  the  fire-sides  of  the  merchants;  estranged 
sons  from  sires ;  and  even  separated  husband  from  wife. 
And  my  thoughts  reverted  to  my  father's  friend,  the  good 
arid  great  Roscoe,  the  intrepid  enemy  of  the  trade  ;  who  in 
every  way  exerted  his  fine  talents  toward  its  suppression  ; 
writing  a  poem  ("  the  Wrongs  of  Africa"),  several  pamph 
lets  ;  and  in  his  place  in  Parliament,  he  delivered  a  speech 
against  it,  which,  as  coming  from  a  member  for  Liverpool, 
was  supposed  to  have  turned  many  votes,  and  had  no  small 
share  in  the  triumph  of  sound  policy  and  humanity  that 
ensued. 

How  this  group  of  statuary  affected  me,  may  be  inferred 
from  the  fact,  that  I  never  went  through  Chapel-street  with 
out  going  through  the  little  arch  to  look  at  it  again.  And 
there,  night  or  day,  I  was  sure  to  find  Lord  Nelson  still 
falling  back ;  Victory's  wreath  still  hovering  over  his  sword- 
point  ;  and  Death  grim  and  grasping  as  ever  ;  while  the  four 
bronze  captives  still  lamented  their  captivity. 

Now,  as  I  lingered  about  the  railing  of  the  statuary,  on 
the  Sunday  I  have  mentioned,  I  noticed  several  persons 
going  in.  and  out  of  an  apartment,  opening  from  the  base 
ment  under  the  colonnade  ;  and,  advancing,  I  perceived  that 
this  was  a  news-room,  full  of  files  of  papers.  My  love 
of  literature  prompted  me  to  open  the  door  and  step  in  ;  but 
a  glance  at  my  soiled  Shoo  ting-jacket  prompted  a  dignified 
looking  personage  to  step  up  and  shut  the  door  in  my  face. 
I  deliberated  a  minute  what  I  should  do  to  him  ;  and  at 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  199 

last  resolutely  determined  to  let  him  alone,  and  pass  on  ; 
which  I  did  ;  going-  down  Castle-street  (so  called  from  a 
castle  Avhich  once  stood  there,  said  my  guide-book),  and 
turning  down  into  Lord. 

Arrived  at  the  foot  of  the  latter  street,  I  in  vain  looked 
round  for  the  hotel.  How  serious  a  disappointment  was 
this  may  well  be  imagined,  when  it  is  considered  that  I  was 
all  eagerness  to  behold  the  very  house  at  which  my  father 
stopped ;  where  he  slept  and  dined,  smoked  his  cigar,  opened 
his  letters,  arid  read  the  papers.  I  inquired  of  some  gentle 
men  and  ladies  where  the  missing  hotel  was  ;  but  they  only 
stared  and  passed  on  ;  until  I  met  a  mechanic,  apparently, 
who  very  civilly  stopped  to  hear  my  questions  and  give  me 
an  answer. 

"  Riddough's  Hotel?"  said  he,  "  upon  my  word,  I  think 
I  have  heard  of  such  a  place ;  let  me  see — yes,  yes — that 
was  the  hotel  where  my  father  broke  his  arm,  helping  to  pull 
down  the  walls.  My  lad,  you  surely  can't  be -inquiring  for 
Riddough's  Hotel !  What  do  you  want  to  find  there  ?" 

"  Oh  !  nothing,"  I  replied,  "  I  am  much  obliged  for  your 
information" — and  away  I  walked. 

Then,  indeed,  a  new  light  broke  in  upon  me  concerning 
my  guide-book  ;  and  all  my  previous  dim  suspicions  were 
almost  confirmed.  It  was  nearly  half  a  century  behind  the 
age  !  and  no  more  fit  to  guide  me  about  the  town,  than  the 
map  of  Pompeii. 

It  was  a  sad,  a  solemn,  and  a  most  melancholy  thought. 
The  book  on  which  I  had  so  much  relied ;  the  book  in  the 
old  morocco  cover  ;  the  book  with  the  cocked-hat  corners  ; 
the  book  full  of  fine  old  family  associations  ;  the  book  with 
seventeen  plates,  executed  in  the  highest  style  of  art ;  this 
precious  book  was  next  to  useless.  Yes,  the  thing  that  had 
guided  the  father,  could  not  guide  the  son.  And  I  sat  down 
on  a  shop  step,  and  gave  loose  to  meditation. 

Here,  now,  oh,  Wellingborough,  thought  I,  learn  a  lesson, 
and  never  forget  it.  This  world,  my  boy,  is  a  moving 


200  EEDBURN: 


world  ;  its  Riddough's  Hotels  are  forever  being  pulled  down ; 
it  never  stands  still ;  and  its  sands  are  forever  shifting.  This 
very  harbor  of  Liverpool  is  gradually  filling  up,  they  say ; 
and  who  knows  what  your  son  (if  you  ever  have  one)  may 
behold,  when  he  comes  to  visit  Liverpool,  as  long  after  you 
as  you  come  after  his  grandfather.  And,  Wellingborough,  as 
your  father's  guide-book  is  no  guide  for  you,  neither  would 
yours  (could  you  afford  to  buy  a  modern  one  to-day)  be  a 
true  guide  to  those  who  come  after  you.  Guide-books, 
Wellingborough,  are  the  least  reliable  books  in  all  literature  ; 
and  nearly  all  literature,  in  one  sense,  is  made  up  of  guide 
books.  Old  ones  tell  us  the  ways  our  fathers  went,  through 
the  thoroughfares  and  courts  of  old  ;  but  how  few  of  those 
former  places  can  their  posterity  trace,  amid  avenues  of 
modern  erections  ;  to  how  few  is  the  old  guide-book  now  a 
clew !  Every  age  makes  its  own  guide-books,  and  the  old 
ones  are  used  for  waste  paper.  But  there  is  one  Holy  Guide- 
Book,  Wellingborough,  that  will  never  lead  you  astray,  if 
you  but  follow  it  aright ;  and  some  noble  monuments  that 
remain,  though  the  pyramids  crumble. 

But  though  I  rose  from  the  door-step  a  sadder  and  a 
wiser  boy,  and  though  my  guide-book  had  been  stripped  of 
its  reputation  for  infallibility,  I  did  not  treat  with  contumely 
or  disdain,  those  sacred  pages  which  had  once  been  a  beacon 
to  my  sire. 

No. — Poor  old  guide-book,  thought  I,  tenderly  stroking 
its  back,  and  smoothing  the  dog-ears  with  reverence  ;  I  will 
not  use  you  with  despite,  old  Morocco  !  and  you  will  yet 
prove  a  trusty  conductor  through  many  old  streets  in  the  old 
parts  of  this  town  ;  even  if  you  are  at  fault,  now  and  then, 
concerning  a  Riddough's  Hotel,  or  some  other  forgotten  thing 
of  the  past. 

As  I  fondly  glanced  over  the  leaves,  like  one  who  loves 
more  than  he  chides,  my  eye  lighted  upon  a  passage  con 
cerning  "  The  Old  Dock,"  which  much  aroused  my  curiosity. 
I  determined  to  see  the  place  without  delay :  and  walking 


HIS   FIRST   VOYAGE.  201 

on,  in  what  I  presumed  to  be  the  right  direction,  at  last 
found  myself  before  a  spacious  and  splendid  pile  of  sculptured 
brown  stone  ;  and  entering  the  porch,  perceived  from  incon 
trovertible  tokens  that  it  must  be  the  Custom-house.  After 
admiring  it  awhile,  I  took  out  my  guide-book  again  ;  and 
what  was  my  amazement  at  discovering  that,  according  to 
its  authority,  I  was  entirely  mistaken  with  regard  to  this 
Custom-house;  for  precisely  where  I  stood,  "  The  Old  Dock" 
must  be  standing,  And  reading  on  concerning  it,  I  met 
with  this  very  apposite  passage  :— "  The  first  idea  that 
strikes  the  stranger  in  coming  to  this  dock,  is  the  singular 
ity  of  so  great  a  number  vf  ships  afloat  in  the  very  heart 
of  the  toivn,  without  discovering  any  connection  with  the 
sea." 

Here,  now,  was  a  poser  !  Old  Morocco  confessed  that 
there  was  a  good  deal  of  <•  singularity"  about  the  thing  ;  nor 
did  he  pretend  to  deny  that  it  was,  without  question,  amaz 
ing,  that  this  fabulous  dock  should  seem  to  have  no  connec 
tion  with  the  sea  !  However,  the  same  author  went  on  to 
say,  that  the  "  astonished  stranger  must  suspend  his  won 
der  for  awhile,  and  turn  to  the  left."  But,  right  or  left, 
no  place  answering  to  the  description  was  to  be  seen. 

This  was  too  confounding  altogether,  and  not  to  be  easily 
accounted  for,  even  by  making  ordinary  allowances  for  the 
growth  and  general  improvement  of  the  town  in  the  course 
of  years.  So,  guide-book  in  hand,  I  accosted  a  police 
man  standing  by,  and  begged  him  to  tell  me  whether  he 
was  acquainted  with  any  place  in  that  neighborhood  called 
the  "  Old  Dock."  The  man  looked  at  me  wonderingly  at 
first,  and  then  seeing  I  was  apparently  sane,  and  quite  civil 
into  the  bargain,  he  whipped  his  well-polished  boot  with  his 
rattan,  pulled  up  his  silver-laced  coat-collar,  and  initiated 
me  into  a  knowledge  of  the  following  facts. 

It  seems  that  in  this  place  originally  stood  the  "pool" 
from  which  the  town  borrows  a  part  of  its  name,  and  which 
originally  wound  round  the  greater  part  of  the  old  settle- 


202  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


merits  ;  that  this  pool  was  made  into  the  "Old  Dock,"  for 
the  benefit  of  the  shipping ;  but  that,  years  ago,  it  had  been 
filled  up,  and  furnished  the  site  for  the  Custom-house  be 
fore  me. 

I  now  eyed  the  spot  with  a  feeling  somewhat  akin  to  the 
Eastern  traveler  standing  on  the  brink  of  the  Dead  Sea.  For 
here  the  doom  of  Gomorrah  seemed  reversed,  and  a  lake  had 
been  converted  into  substantial  stone  and  mortar. 

Well,  well,  Wellingborough,  thought  I,  you  had  better 
put  the  book  into  your  pocket,  and  carry  it  home  to  the 
Society  of  Antiquaries ;  it  is  several  thousand  leagues  and 
odd  furlongs  behind  the  march  of  improvement.  Smell  its 
old  morocco  binding,  Wellingborough  ;  does  it  not  smell 
somewhat  mummyish  ?  Does  it  not  remind  you  of  Cheops 
and  the  Catacombs?  I  tell  you  it  was  written  before  the 
lost  books  of  Livy,  and  is  cousin-german  to  that  irrecoverably 
departed  volume,  entitled,  "  The  Wars  of  the  Lord"  quoted 
by  Moses  in  the  Pentateuch.  Put  it  up,  Wellingborough, 
put  it  up,  my  dear  friend  ;  and  hereafter  follow  your  nose 
throughout  Liverpool ;  it  will  stick  to  you  through  thick 
and  thin  :  and  be  your  ship's  mainmast  arid  St.  George's 
spire  your  landmarks. 

No  ! — And  again  I  rubbed  its  back  softly,  and  gently 
adjusted  a  loose  leaf:  No,  no,  I'll  not  give  you  up  yet. 
Forth,  old  Morocco!  and  lead  me  in  sight  of  the  venerable 
Abbey  of  Birkenhead  ;  and  let  these  eager  eyes  behold  the 
mansion  once  occupied  by  the  old  earls  of  Derby ! 

For  the  book  discoursed  of  both  places,  and  told  how  the 
Abbey  was  on  the  Cheshire  shore,  full  in  view  from  a  point 
on  the  Lancashire  side,  covered  over  with  ivy,  and  brilliant 
with  moss  !  And  how  the  house  of  the  noble  Derbys'  was 
now  a  common  jail  of  the  toxvn;  and  how  that  circumstance 
was  full  of  suggestions,  arid  pregnant  with  wisdom  ! 

But,  alas  !  I  never  saw  the  Abbey ;  at  least  none  was  in 
sight  from  the  water  :  and  as  for  the  house  of  the  earls,  I 
never  saw  that. 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  203 

Ah  me,  and  ten  times  alas  !  am  I  to  visit  old  England 
in  vain  ?  in  .the  land  of  Thomas-a-Becket  and  stout  John 
of  Gaunt,  not  to  catch  the  least  glimpse  of  priory  or  castle  ? 
Is  there  nothing  in  all  the  British  empire  but  these  smoky 
ranges  of  old  shops  and  warehouses  ?  is  Liverpool  but  a  brick 
kiln  ?  Why,  no  buildings  here  look  so  ancient  as  the  old 
gable-pointed  mansion  of  my  maternal  grandfather  at  home, 
whose  bricks  were  brought  from  Holland  long  before  the 
revolutionary  war !  "Tis  a  deceit — a  gull — a  sham — a  hoax ! 
This  boasted  England  is  no  older  than  the  State  of  New 
York  :  if  it  is,  show  me  the  proofs — point  out  the  vouchers. 
Where's  the  tower  of  Julius  Caesar  ?  Where's  the  Roman 
wall  ?  Show  me  Stonehenge  ! 

But,  Wellingborough,  I  remonstrated  with  myself,  you 
are  only  in  Liverpool ;  the  old  monuments  lie  to  the  north, 
south,  east,  and  west  of  you  ;  you  are  but  a  sailor-boy,  and 
you  can  not  expect  to  be  a  great  tourist,  and  visit  the  antiqui 
ties,  in  that  preposterous  shooting-jacket  of  yours.  Indeed, 
you  can  not,  my  boy. 

True,  true — that's  it.  I  am  not  the  traveler  my  father 
was.  I  am  only  a  common-carrier  across  the  Atlantic. 

After  a  weary  day's  walk,  I  at  last  arrived  at  the  sign 
of  the  Baltimore  Clipper  to  supper  ;  and  Handsome  Mary 
poured  me  out  a  brimmer  of  tea,  in  which,  for  the  time,  I 
drowned  all  my  melancholy. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

THE    DOCKS. 

FOR  more  than  six  weeks,  the  ship  Highlander  lay  in 
Prince's  Dock  ;  and  during  that  time',  besides  making  observ 
ations  upon  things  immediately  around  me,  I  made  sundry 
excursions  to  the  neighboring  docks,  for  I  never  tired  of 
admiring  them. 

Previous  to  this,  having  only  seen  the  miserable  wooden 
wharves,  and  slip-shod,  shambling  piers  of  New  York,  the 
sight  of  these  mighty  docks  rilled  my  young  mind  with 
wonder  and  delight.  In  New  York,  to  be  sure,  I  could  not 
but  be  struck  with  the  long  line  of  shipping,  and  tangled 
thicket  of  masts  along  the  East  River ;  yet,  my  admiration 
had  been  much  abated  by  those  irregular,  unsightly  wharves, 
which,  I  am  sure,  are  a  reproach  and  disgrace  to  the  city 
that  tolerates  them. 

Whereas,  in  Liverpool,  I  beheld  long  China  walls  of 
masonry  ;  vast  piers  of  stone  ;  and  a  succession  of  granite- 
rimmed  docks,  completely  inclosed,  and  many  of  them  com 
municating,  which  almost  recalled  to  mind  the  great  Amer 
ican  chain  of  lakes :  Ontario,  Erie,  St.  Clair,  Huron, 
Michigan,  and  Superior.  The  extent  and  solidity  of  these 
structures,  seemed  equal  to  what  I  had  read  of  the  old 
Pyramids  of  Egypt. 

Liverpool  may  justly  claim  to  have  originated  the  model 
of  the  Wet  Dock,^  so  called,  of  the  present  day  ;  and  every 

*  This  term — Wet  Dock — did  not  originate,  (as  has  been  erroneously 
opined  by  the  otherwise  learned  Bardoldi) ;  from  the  fact,  that  persons 
falling  into  one,  never  escaped  without  a  soaking ;  but  it  is  simply 
used,  in  order  to  distinguish  these  docks  from  the  Dry-Dock,  where 
the  bottoms  of  ships  are  repaired. 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  205 

thing  that  is  connected  with  its  design,  construction,  reg 
ulation,  and  improvement.  Even  London  was  induced  to 
copy  after  Liverpool,  and  Havre  followed  her  exam 
ple.  In  magnitude,  cost,  and  durability,  the  docks  of 
Liverpool,  even  at  the  present  day  surpass  all  others  in  the 
world. 

The  first  dock  built  by  the  town  was  the  "  Old  Dock" 
alluded  to  in  my  Sunday  stroll  with  my  guide-book.  This 
was  erected  in  1710,  since  which  period  has  gradually 
arisen  that  long  line  of  dock-masonry,  now  flanking  the 
Liverpool  side  of  the  Mersey. 

For  miles  you  may  walk  along  that  river-side,  passing 
dock  after  dock,  like  a  chain  of  immense  fortresses : — 
Prince's,  George's,  Salt-House,  Clarence,  Brunswick,  Trafal 
gar,  King's,  Queen's,  and  many  more. 

In  a  spirit  of  patriotic  gratitude  to  those  naval  heroes, 
who  by  their  valor  did  so  much  to  protect  the  commerce  of 
Britain,  in  which  Liverpool  held  so  large  a  stake ;  the  town, 
long  since,  bestowed  upon  its  more  modern  streets,  certain 
illustrious  names,  that  Broadway  might  be  proud  of: — 
Duncan,  Nelson,  Rodney,  St.  Vincent,  Nile. 

But  it  is  a  pity,  I  think,  that  they  had  not  bestowed 
these  noble  names  upon  their  noble  docks ;  so  that  they 
might  have  been  as  a  rank  and  file  of  most  fit  monuments 
to  perpetuate  the  names  of  the  heroes,  in  connection  with  the 
commerce  they  defended. 

And  how  much  better  would  such  stirring  monuments 
be ;  full  of  life  and  commotion  ;  than  hermit  obelisks  of 
Luxor,  and  idle  towers  of  stone  ;  which,  useless  to  the 
world  in  themselves,  vainly  hope  to  eternize  a  name,  by 
having  it  carved,  solitary  and  alone,  in  their  granite.  Such 
monuments  are  cenotaphs  indeed  ;  founded  far  away  from 
the  true  body  of  the  fame  of  the  hero  ;  who,  if  he  be  truly  a 
hero,  must  still  be  linked  with  the  living  interests  of  his 
race  ;  for  the  true  fame  is  something  free,  easy,  social,  and 
companionable.  They  are  but  tomb-stones,  that  commemo- 


206  RED  BURN: 


rate  his  death,  but  celebrate  not  his  life.  It  is  well  enough 
that  over  the  inglorious  and  thrice  miserable  grave  of  a 
Dives,  some  vast  marble  column  should  be  reared,  recording 
the  fact  of  his  having  lived  and  died  ;  for  such  records  are 
indispensable  to  preserve  his  shrunken  memory  among  men; 
though  that  memory  must  soon  crumble  away  with  the 
marble,  and  mix  with  the  stagnant  oblivion  of  the  mob.  But 
to  build  such  a  pompous  vanity  over  the  remains  of  a  hero, 
is  a  slur  upon  his  fame,  and  an  insult  to  his  ghost.  And 
more  enduring  monuments  are  built  in  the  closet  with  the 
letters  of  the  alphabet,  than  even  Cheops  himself  could  have 
founded,  with  all  Egypt  and  Nubia  for  his  quarry. 

Among  the  few  docks  mentioned  above,  occur  the  names 
of  the  King's  and  Queen's.  At  the  time,  they  often  re 
minded  me  of  the  two  principal  streets  in  the  village  I  came 
from  in  America,  which  streets  once  rejoiced  in  the  same 
royal  appellations.  But  they  had  been  christened  previous 
to  the  Declaration  of  Independence ;  and  some  years  after, 
in  a  fever  of  freedom,  they  were  abolished,  at  an  enthusiastic 
town-meeting,  where  King  George  and  his  lady  were  sol 
emnly  declared  unworthy  of  being  immortalized  by  the  vil 
lage  of  L .  A  country  antiquary  once  told  me,  that  a 

committee  of  two  barbers  were  deputed  to  write  and  inform 
the  distracted  old  gentleman  of  the  fact. 

As  the  description  of  any  one  of  these  Liverpool  docks 
will  pretty  much  answer  for  all,  I  will  here  endeavor  to 
give  some  account  of  Prince's  Dock,  where  the  Highlander 
rested  after  her  passage  across  the  Atlantic. 

This  dock,  of  comparatively  recent  construction,  is  per 
haps  the  largest  of  all,  and  is  well  known  to  American  sail 
ors,  from  the  fact,  that  it  is  mostly  frequented  by  the  Amer 
ican  shipping.  Here  lie  the  noble  New  York  packets,  which 
at  home  are  found  at  the  foot  of  Wall-street ;  and  here  lie 
the  Mobile  and  Savannah  cotton  ships  and  traders. 

This  dock  was  built  like  the  others,  mostly  upon  the  bed 
of  the  river,  the  earth  and  rock  having  been  laboriously 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  207 

scooped  out,  and  solidified  again  as  materials  for  the  quays 
and  piers. 

From  the  river,  Prince's  Dock  is  protected  by  a  long 
pier  of  masonry,  surmounted  by  a  massive  wall ;  and  on 
the  side  next  the  town,  it  is  bounded  by  similar  walls,  one 
of  which  runs  along  a  thoroughfare.  The  whole  space 
thus  inclosed  forms  an  oblong,  and  may,  at  a  guess,  be 
presumed  to  comprise  about  fifteen  or  twenty  acres  ;  but  as 
I  had  not  the  rod  of  a  surveyor  when  I  took  it  inf  I  will 
not  be  certain. 

The  area  of  the  dock  itself,  exclusive  of  the  inclosed 
quays  surrounding  jt,  may  be  estimated  at,  say,  ten  acres. 
Access  to  the  interior  from  the  streets  is  had  through  sev 
eral  gateways  ;  so  that,  upon  their  being  closed,  the  whole 
dock  is  shut  up  like  a  house.  From  the  river,  the  entrance 
is  through  a  water-gate,  and  ingress  to  ships  is  only  to  be 
had,  when  the  level  of  the  dock  coincides  with  that  of  the 
river ;  that  is,  about  the  time  of  high  tide,  as  the  level  of 
the  dock  is  always  at  that  mark.  So  that  when  it  is  low 
tide  in  the  river,  the  keels  of  the  ships  inclosed  by  the  quays 
are  elevated  more  than  twenty  feet  above  those  of  the  ves 
sels  in  the  stream.  This,  of  course,  produces  a  striking 
effect  to  a  stranger,  to  see  hundred*  of  immense  ships  float 
ing  high  aloft  in  the  heart  of  a  mass  of  masonry. 

Prince's  Dock  is  generally  so  filled  wi*h  shipping,  that 
the  entrance  of  a  new-comer  is  apt  'to  occasion  a  universal 
«tir  among  all  the  older  occupants.  The  dock-masters, 
whose  authority  is  declared  by  tin  signs  worn  conspicuously 
over  their  hats,  mount  the  poops  and  forecastles  of  the  va 
rious  vessels,  and  hail  the  surrounding  strangers  in  all  direc 
tions  : — "  Highlander  ahoy  !  Cast  off  your  boiv-line,  and 
sheer  alongside  the  Neptune!"  —  "Neptune  ahoy!  get 
out  a  stern-line,  and  sheer  alongside  the  Trident!"  — 
"  Trident  ahoy  !  get  out  a  boiv-line,  and  dron^stern  of 
the  Undaunted!"  And  so  it  runs  round  liWwfeiock  of 
electricity ;  touch  one,  and  you  touch  all.  JK|Akind  of 


208  REDBURN: 


work  irritates  and  exasperates  the  sailors  to  the  last  degree  ; 
but  it  is  only  one  of  the  unavoidable  inconveniences  of  in 
closed  docks,  which  are  outweighed  by  innumerable  advant 
ages. 

Just  without  the  water-gate,  is  a  basin,  always  connect 
ing  with  the  open  river,  through  a  narrow  entrance  between 
pier-heads.  This  basin  forms,  a  sort  of  ante-chamber  to  the 
dock  itself,  where  vessels  lie  waiting  their  turn  to  enter. 
During  a  storm,  the  necessity  of  this  basin  is  obvious  ;  for 
it  would  be  impossible  to  "dock"  a  ship  under  full  headway 
from  a  voyage  across  the  ocean.  From  the  turbulent  waves, 
she  first  glides  into  the  ante-chamber  between  the  pier-heads, 
and  from  thence  into  the  docks. 

Concerning  the  cost  of  the  -docks,  I  can  only  state,  that 
the  King's  Dock,  comprehending  but  a  comparatively  small 
area,  was  completed  at  an  expense  of  some  £2 0,000. 

Our  old  ship-keeper,  a  Liverpool  man  by  birth,  who  had 
long  followed  the  seas,  related  a  curious  story  concerning  this 
dock.  One  of  the  ships  which  carried  over  troops  from  En 
gland  to  Ireland  in  King  William's  war,  in  1688,  entered 
the  King's  Dock  on  the  first  day  of  its  being  opened  in  1788, 
after  an  interval  of  just  one  century.  She  was  a  dark  little 
brig,  called  the  Port-a-Ferry.  And  probably,  as  her  tim 
bers  must  have  been  frequently  renewed  in  the  course  of  a 
hundred  years,  the  name  alone  could  have  been  all  that  was 
left  of  her  at  the  time. 

A  paved  area,  very  wide,  is  included  within  the  walls  ; 
and  along  the  edge  of  the  quays  are  ranges  of  iron  sheds, 
intended  as  a  temporary  shelter  for  the  goods  unladed  from 
the  shipping.  Nothing  can  exceed  the  bustle  and  activity 
displayed  along  these  quays  during  the  day  ;  bales,  crates, 
boxes,  and  cases  are  being  tumbled  about  by  thousands  of 
laborers  ;  trucks  are  coming  and  going ;  dock-masters  are 
shouting  ;  sailors  of  all  nations  are  singing  out  at  their  ropes  ; 
and  all  ftfs^ommotion  is  greatly  increased  by  the  resound- 
in  gs  from  the  lofty  walls  that  hem  in  the  din. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

THE    SALT-DROGHERS,    AND    GERMAN    EMIGRANT    SHIPS. 

SURROUNDED  by  its  broad  belt  of  masonry,  each  Liverpool 
dock  is  a  walled  town,  full  of  life  and  commotion  ;  or  rather, 
it  is  a  small  archipelago,  an  epitome  of  the  world,  where  all 
the  nations  of  Christendom,  and  even  those  of  Heathendom, 
are  represented.  For,  in  itself,  each  ship  is  an  island,  a 
floating  colony  of  the  tribe  to  which  it  belongs. 

Here  are  brought  together  the  remotest  limits  of  the  earth  ; 
and  in  the  collective  spars  and  timbers  of  these  ships,  all  the 
forests  of  the  globe  are  represented,  as  in  a  grand  parliament 
of  masts.  Canada  and  New  Zealand  send  their  pines ; 
America  her  live  oak  ;  India  her  teak  ;  Norway  her  spruce  ; 
and  the  Right  Honorable  Mahogany,  member  for  Honduras 
and  Campeachy,  is  seen  at  his  post  by  the  wheel.  Here, 
under  the  beneficent  sway  of  the  Genius  of  Commerce,  all 
climes  and  countries  embrace  ;  and  yard-arm  touches  yard- 
arm  in  brotherly  love. 

A  Liverpool  dock  is  a  grand  caravansary  inn,  and  hotel, 
on  the  spacious  and  liberal  plan  of  the  Astor  House.  Here 
ships  are  lodged  at  a  moderate  charge,  and  payment  is  not 
demanded  till  the  time  of  departure.  Here  they  are  com 
fortably  housed  and  provided  for  ;  sheltered  from  all  weathers 
and  secured  from  all  calamities.  For  I  can  hardly  credit 
a  story  I  have  heard,  that  sometimes,  in  heavy  gales,  ships 
lying  in  the  very  middle^  of  the  docks  have  lost  their  top 
gallant-masts.  Whatever  the  toils  and  hardships  encount 
ered  on  the  voyage,  whether  they  come  from  Iceland  or  the 
coast  of  New  Guinea,  here  their  sufferings  are  ended,  and 
they  take  their  ease  in  their  watery  inn. 


210  BEDBURN: 


I  know  not  how  many  hours  I  spent  in  gazing  at  the 
shipping  in  Prince's  Dock,  and  speculating  concerning  their 
past  voyages  and  future  prospects  in  life.  Some  had  just 
arrived  from  the  most  distant  ports,  worn,  battered,  arid  dis 
abled  ;  others  were  all  a-taunt-o — spruce,  gay,  and  brilliant, 
in  readiness  for  sea. 

Every  day  the  Highlander  had  some  new  neighbor.  A 
black  brig  from  Glasgow,  with  its  crew  of  sober  Scotch 
caps,  and  its  staid,  thrifty-looking  skipper,  would  be  replaced 
by  a  jovial  French  hermaphrodite,  its  forecastle  echoing  with 
songs,  and  its  quarter-deck  elastic  from  much  dancing. 

On  the  other  side,  perhaps,  a  magnificent  New  York 
Liner,  huge  as  a  severity-four,  and  suggesting  the  idea  of  a 
Mivart's  or  Delmonico's  afloat,  would  give  way  to  a  Sidney 
emigrant  ship,  receiving  on  board  its  live  freight  of  shep 
herds  from  the  Grampians,  ere  long  to  be  tending  their  flocks 
on  the  hills  and  downs  of  New  Holland. 

I  was  particularly  pleased  and  tickled,  with  a  multitude 
of  little  salt-droghers,  rigged  like  sloops,  and  not  much  bigger 
than  a  pilot-boat,  but  with  broad  bows  painted  black,  and 
carrying  red  sails,  which  looked  as  if  they  had  been  pickled 
and  stained  in  a  tan-yard.  These  little  fellows  were  con 
tinually  coming  in  with  their  cargoes  for  ships  bound  to 
America  ;  and  lying,  five  or  six  together,  alongside  of  those 
lofty  Yankee  hulls,  resembled  a  parcel  of  red  ants  about  the 
carcass  of  a  black  buffalo. 

When  loaded,  these  comical  little  craft  are  about  level 
with  the  water  ;  and  frequently,  when  blowing  fresh  in  the 
river,  I  have  seen  them  flying  through  the  foam  with  noth 
ing  visible  but  the  mast  and  sail,  and  a  man  at  the  tiller  ; 
their  entire  cargo  being  snugly  secured  under  hatches. 

It  was  diverting  to  observe  the  self-irnportance  of  the 
skipper  of  any  of  these  diminutive  vessels.  He  would  give 
himself  all  the  airs  of  an  admiral  on  a  three-decker's  poop  ; 
and  no  doubt,  thought  quite  as  much  of  himself.  And  why 
not  ?  What  could  Caesar  want  more  ?  Though  his  craft 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  211 

was  none  of  the  largest,  it  was  subject  to  him  ;  and  though 
his  crew  might  only  consist  of  himself;  yet,  if  he  governed 
it  well,  he  achieved  a  triumph,  which  the  moralists  of  all 
ages  have  set  above  the  victories  of  Alexander. 

These  craft  have  each  a  little  cabin,  the  prettiest,  charm- 
ingest,  most  delightful  little  dog-hole  in  the  world ;  not  much 
bigger  than  an  old  fashioned  alcove  for  a  bed.  It  is  lighted 
by  little  round  glasses  placed  in  the  deck  ;  so  that  to  the 
insider,  the  ceiling  is  like  a  small  firmament  twinkling  with 
astral  radiations.  For  tall  men,  nevertheless,  the  place  is 
but  ill-adapted  ;  a  sitting,  or  recumbent  position  being  indis 
pensable  to  an  occupancy  of  the  premises.  Yet  small,  low, 
and  narrow  as  the  cabin  is,  somehow,  it  affords  accommoda 
tions  to  the  skipper  and  his  family.  Often,  I  used  to  watch 
the  tidy  good-wife,  seated  at  the  open  little  scuttle,  like  a 
woman  at  a  cottage  door,  engaged  in  knitting  socks  for  her 
husband  ;  or  perhaps,  cutting  his  hair,  as  he  kneeled  before 
her.  And  once,  while  marveling  how  a  couple  like  this 
found  room  to  turn  in,  below  ;  I  was  amazed  by  a  noisy 
irruption  of  cherry-cheeked  young  tars  from  the  scuttle, 
whence  they  came  rolling  forth,  like  so  many  curly  spaniels 
from  a  kennel. 

Upon  one  occasion,  I  had  the  curiosity  to  go  on  board  a 
salt-drogher,  and  fall  into  conversation  with  its  skipper,  a 
bachelor,  who  kept  house  all  alone.  I  found  him  a  very 
sociable;  comfortable  old  fellow,  who  had  an  eye  to  having 
things  cozy  around  him.  It  was  in  the  evening ;  and  he 
invited  me  down  into  his  sanctum  to  supper ;  and  there  we 
sat  together  like  a  couple  in  a  box  at  an  oyster-cellar. 

"  He,  he,"  he  chuckled,  kneeling  down  before  a  fat,  moist, 
little  cask  of  beer,  and  holding  a  cocked-hat  pitcher  to  the 
faucet — "You  see,  Jack,  I  keep  every  thing  down  here; 
and  nice  times  I  have  by  myself.  Just  before  going  to  bed, 
it  ain't  bad  to  take  a  nightcap,  you  know  ;  eh  !  Jack  ? — 
here  now,  smack  your  lips  over  that,  my  boy — have  a  pipe  ? 
— but  stop,  let's  to  supper  first." 


212  REDBURN: 


So  he  went  to  a  little  locker,  a  fixture  against  the  side, 
and  groping  in  it  awhile,  and  addressing  it  with — "  What 
cheer  here,  ivhat  cheer  ?"  at  last  produced  a  loaf,  a  small 
cheese,  a  bit  of  ham,  and  a  jar  of  butter.  And  then  placing 
a  board  on  his  lap,  spread  the  table,  the  pitcher  of  beer  in 
the  center. 

"Why  that's  but  a  two  legged  table,"  said  I,  "let's 
make  it  four." 

So  we  divided  the  burthen,  and  supped  merrily  together 
on  our  knees. 

He  was  an  old  ruby  of  a  fellow,  his  cheeks  toasted  brown ; 
and  it  did  my  soul  good,  to  see  the  froth  of  the  beer  bubbling 
at  his  mouth,  and  sparkling  on  his  nut-brown  beard.  He 
looked  so  like  a  great  mug  of  ale,  that  I  almost  felt  like 
taking  him  by  the  neck  and  pouring  him  out. 

"  Now  Jack,"  said  he,  when  supper  was  over,  "  now 
Jack,  my  boy,  do  you  smoke  ? — Well  then,  load  away." 
And  he  handed  me  a  seal-skin  pouch  of  tobacco  and  a  pipe. 
We  sat  smoking  together  in  this  little  sea-cabinet  of  his,  till 
it  began  to  look  much  like  a  state-room  in  Tophet ;  and 
notwithstanding  my  host's  rubicund  nose,  I  could  hardly  see 
him  for  the  fog. 

"  He,  he,  my  boy,"  then  said  he — "  I  don't  never  have 
any  bugs  here,  I  tell  ye  :  I  smokes  'em  all  out  every  night 
before  going  to  bed." 

"  And  where  may  you  sleep  ?"  said  I,  looking  round,  and 
seeing  no  sign  of  a  bed. 

"  Sleep  ?"  says  he,  "  why  I  sleep  in  my  jacket,  that's  the 
best  counterpane  ;  and  I  use  my  head  for  a  pillow.  He-he, 
funny,  ain't  it  ?" 

"  Very  funny,"  says  I. 

"  Have  some  more  ale  ?"  says  he  ;   "  plenty  more." 

"  No  more,  thank  you,"  says  I ;  "I  guess  I'll  go  ;"  for 
what  with  the  tobacco-smoke  and  the  ale,  I  began  to  feel 
like  breathing  fresh  air.  Besides,  my  conscience  smote  me 
for  thus  freely  indulging  in  the  pleasures  of  the  table. 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  213 


.  "  Now,  don't  go,"  said  he  ;  "  don't  go,  my  boy  ;  don't  go 
out  into  the  damp  ;  take  an  old  Christian's  advice,"  laying 
his  hand  on  my  shoulder  ;  "it  won't  do.  You  see,  by  going 
out  now,  you'll  shake  off  the  ale,  and  get  broad  awake  again  ; 
but  if  you  stay  here,  you'll  soon  be  dropping  off  for  a  nice 
little  nap." 

But  notwithstanding  these  inducements,  I  shook  my  host's 
hand  and  departed. 

There  was  hardly  any  thing  I  witnessed  in  the  docks  that 
interested  me  more  than  the  German  emigrants  who  come 
on  board  the  large  New  York  ships  several  days  before  their 
sailing,  to  make  every  thing  comfortable  ere  starting.  Old 
men,  tottering  with  age,  and  little  infants  in  arms  ;  laugh 
ing  girls  in  bright-buttoned  bodices,  and'  astute,  middle-aged 
men  with  pictured  pipes  in  their  mouths,  would  be  seen 
mingling  together  in  crowds  of  five,  six,  and  seven  or  eight 
hundred  in  one  ship. 

Every  evening  these  countrymen  of  Luther  and  Melanc- 
thon  gathered  on  the  forecastle  to  sing  and  pray.  And  it 
was  exalting  to  listen  to  their  fine  ringing  anthems,  rever 
berating  among  the  crowded  shipping,  and  rebounding  from 
the  lofty  walls  of  the  docks.  Shut  your  eyes,  and  you  would 
think  you  were  in  a  cathedral. 

They  keep  up  this  custom  at  sea  ;  and  every  night,  in  the 
dog-watch,  sing  the  songs  of  Zion  to  the  roll  of  the  great 
ocean-organ  :  a  pious  custom  of  a  devout  race,  who  thus  send 
over  their  hallelujahs  before  them,  as  they  hie  to  the  land  of 
the  stranger. 

And  among  these  sober  Germans,  my  country  counts  the 
most  orderly  and  valuable  of  her  foreign  population.  It  is 
they  who  have  swelled  the  census  of  her  Northwestern 
States ;  and  transferring  their  ploughs  from  the  hills  of  Tran 
sylvania  to  the  prairies  of  Wisconsin ;  and  sowing  the  wheat 
of  the  Rhine  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  raise  the  grain,  that, 
a  hundred  fold  increased,  may  return  to  their  kinsmen  in 
Europe, 


214  RED  BURN: 


There  is  something  in  the  contemplation  of  the  mode  in 
which  America  has  been  settled,  that,  in  a  noble  breast, 
should  forever  extinguish  the  prejudices  of  national  dislikes. 

Settled  by  the  people  of  all  nations,  all  nations  may  claim 
her  for  their  own.  You  can  not  spill  a  drop  of  American 
blood  without  spilling  the  blood  of  the  whole  world.  Be  he 
Englishman,  Frenchman,  German,  Dane,  or  Scot;  the  Euro 
pean  who  scoffs  at  an  American,  calls  his  own  brother  Raca, 
and  stands  in  danger  of  the  judgment.  We  are  not  a  nar 
row  tribe  of  men,  with  a  bigoted  Hebrew  nationality — 
whose  blood  has  been  debased  in  the  attempt  to  ennoble  it, 
by  maintaining  an  exclusive  succession  among  ourselves. 
No  :  our  blood  is  as  the  flood  of  the  Amazon,  made  up  of  a 
thousand  noble  currents  all  pouring  into  one.  We  are  not 
a  nation,  so  much  as  a  world ;  for  unless  we  may  claim  all 
the  world  for  our  sire,  like  Melchisedec,  we  are  without 
father  or  mother. 

For  who  was  our  father  and  our  mother  ?  Or  can  we 
point  to  any  Romulus  and  Remus  for  our  founders  ?  Our 
ancestry  is  lost  in  the  universal  paternity ;  and  Caesar  arid 
Alfred,  St.  Paul  and  Luther,  and  Homer  and  Shakspeare 
are  as  much  ours  as  Washington,  who  is  as  much  the  world's 
as  our  own.  We  are  the  heirs  of  all  time,  and  with  all 
nations  we  divide  our  inheritance.  On  this  Western  Hemi 
sphere  all  tribes  and  people  are  forming  into  one  federated 
whole ;  and  there  is  a  future  which  shall  see  the  estranged 
children  of  Adam  restored  as  to  the  old  hearth-stone  in  Eden. 

The  other  world  beyond  this,  which  was  longed  for  by 
the  devout  before  Columbus'  time,  was  found  in  the  New  ; 
and  the  deep-sea-lead,  that  first  struck  these  soundings, 
brought  up  the  soil  of  Earth's  Paradise.  Not  a  Paradise 
then,  or  now  ;  but  to  be  made  so,  at  God's  good  pleasure, 
and  in  the  fullness  and  mellowness  of  time.  The  seed  is 
sown,  and  the  harvest  must  come  ;  and  our  childrens'  chil 
dren,  on  the  world's  jubilee  morning,  shall  all  go  with  their 
sickles  to  the  reaping.  Then  shall  the  curse  of  Babel  be 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  215 

revoked,  a  new  Pentecost  come,  and  the  language  they  shall 
speak  shall  be  the  language  of  Britain.  Frenchmen,  and 
Danes,  and  Scots  ;  and  the  dwellers  on  the  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean,  and  in  the  regions  round  about ;  Italians, 
and  Indians,  and  Moors :  there  shall  appear  unto  them 
cloven  tongues  as  of  fire. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

THE    IRRAWADDY. 

AMONG  the  various  ships  lying  in  Prince's  Dock,  none 
interested  me  more  than  the  Irrawaddy,  of  Bombay,  a 
"country  ship"  which  is  the  name  bestowed  by  Europeans 
upon  the  large  native  vessels  of  India.  Forty  years  ago, 
these  merchantmen  were  nearly  the  largest  in  the  world ; 
and  they  still  exceed  the  generality.  They  are  built  of 
the  celebrated  teak  wood,  the  oak  of  the  East,  or  in  Eastern 
phrase,  "the  King  of  the  Oaks" 

The  Irrawaddy  had  just  arrived  from  Hindostan,  with  a 
cargo  of  cotton.  She  was  manned  by  forty  or  fifty  Lascars, 
the  native  seamen  of  India,  who  seemed  to  be  immediately 
governed  by  a  countryman  of  theirs  of  a  higher  caste.  While 
his  inferiors  went  about  in  strips  of  white  linen,  this  dignitary 
was  arrayed  in  a  red  army-coat,  brilliant  with  gold  lace,  a 
cocked  hat,  and  drawn  sword.  But  the  general  effect  was 
quite  spoiled  by  his  bare  feet. 

In  discharging  the  cargo,  his  business  seemed  to  consist  in 
flagellating  the  crew  with  the  flat  of  his  saber,  an  exercise 
in  which  long  practice  had  made  him  exceedingly  expert. 
The  poor  fellows  jumped  away  with  the  tackle-rope,  elastic 
as  cats. 

One  Sunday,  I  went  aboard  of  the  Irrawaddy,  when  this 
oriental  usher  accosted  me  at  the  gangway,  with  his  sword 
at  my  throat.  I  gently  pushed  it  aside,  making  a  sign  ex 
pressive  of  the  pacific  character  of  my, motives  in  paying  a 
visit  to  the  ship.  Whereupon  he  very  considerately  let  me 

SB. 

I  thought  I  was  in  Pegu,  so  strangely  woody  was  the 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  217 

smell  of  the  dark-colored  timbers,  whose  odor  was  heightened 
by  the  rigging  of  kayar,  or  cocoa-nut  fiber. '    <v 

The  Lascars  were  on  the  forecastle- deck.  Among  them 
were  Malays,  Mahrattas,  Burmese,  Siamese,  and  Cingalese. 
They  were  seated  round  "kids"  full  of  rice,  from  which,  ac 
cording  to  their  invariable  custom,  they  helped  themselves 
with  one  hand,  the  other  being  reserved  for  quite  another 
purpose.  They  were  chattering  like  magpies  in  Hindostanee, 
but  I  found  that  several  of  them  could  also  speak  very  good 
English.  They  were  a  small-limbed,  wiry,  tawny  set ;  and 
I  was  informed  ,made  excellent  seamen,  though  ill  adapted 
to  stand  the  hardships  of  northern  voyaging. 

They  told  me  that  seven  of  their  number  had  died  on  the 
passage  from  Bombay ;  two  or  three  after  crossing  the  tropic 
of  Cancer,  and  the  rest  met  their  fate  in  the  Channel,  where 
the  ship  had  been  tost  about  in  violent  seas,  attended  with 
cold  rains,  peculiar  to  that  vicinity.  Two  more  had  been 
lost  overboard  from  the  flying-jib-boom. 

I  was  condoling  with  a  young.  English  cabin-boy  on  board, 
upon  the  loss  of  these  poor  fellows,  when  he  said  it  was  their 
own  fault;  they  would  never  wear  monkey-jackets,  but  clung 
to  their  thin  India  robes,  even  in  the  bitterest  weather.  He 
talked  about  them  much  as  a  farmer  would  about  the  loss 
of  so  many  sheep  by  the  murrain. 

The  captain  of  the  vessel  was  an  Englishman,  as  were 
also  the  three  mates,  master,  and  boatswain.  These  officers 
lived  astern  in  the  cabin,  where  every  Sunday  they  read  the 
Church  of  England's  prayers,  while  the  heathen  at  the  other 
end  of  the  ship  were  left  to  their  false  gods  and  idols.  And 
thus,  with  Christianity  on  the  quarter-deck,  and  paganism 
on  the  forecastle,  the  Irrawaddy  ploughed  the  sea. 

As  if  to  symbolize  this  state  of  things,  the  "fancy  piece" 
astern  comprised,  among  numerous  other  carved  decorations, 
a  cross  and  a  miter ;  while  forward,  on  the  bows,  was  a  sort 
of  devil  for  a  figure-head — a  dragon-shaped  creature,  with  a 
fiery  red  mouth,  and  a  switchy-looking  tail. 

K 


218  REDBURN: 


After  her  cargo  was  discharged,  which  was  done  «  to  the 
sound  of  flutes  and  soft  recorders"— something  as  work  is 
done  in  the  navy  to  the  music  of  the  boatswain's  pipe — the 
Lascars  were  set  to  "stripping  the  ship ;"  that  is,  to  sending 
down  all  her  spars  and  ropes. 

At  this  time,  she  lay  alongside  of  us,  and  the  Babel  on 
board  almost  drowned  our  own  voices.  In  nothing  but  their 
girdles,  the  Lascars  hopped  about  aloft,  chattering  like  so 
many  monkeys  ;  but,  nevertheless,  showing  much  dexterity 
and  seamanship  in  their  manner  of  doing  their  work. 

Every  Sunday,  crowds  of  well-dressed  people  came  down 
to  the  dock  to  see  this  singular  ship :  many  of  them  perched 
themselves  in  the  shrouds  of  the  neighboring  craft,  much  to 
the  wrath  of  Captain  Higa,  whd  left  strict  orders  with  our 
old  ship-keeper,  to  drive  all  strangers  out  of  the  Highlander's 
rigging.  It  was  amusing  at  these  times,  to  watch  the  old 
women  with  umbrellas,  who  stood  on  the  quay  staring  at 
the  Lascars,  even  when  they  desired  to  be  private.  These 
inquisitive  old  ladies  seemed  to  regard  the  strange  sailors  as 
a  species  of  wild  animal,  whom  they  might  gaze  at  with  as 
much  impunity,  as  at  leopards  in  the  Zoological  Gardens. 

One  night  I  was  returning  to  the  ship,  when  just  as  I 
was  passing  through  the  Dock  Gate,  I  noticed  a  white  figure 
squatting  against  the  wall  outside.  It  proved  to  be  one  of 
the  Lascars  who  was  smoking,  as  the  regulations  of  the  docks 
prohibit  his  indulging  this  luxury  on  board  his  vessel.  Struck 
with  the  curious  fashion  of  his  pipe,  and  the  odor  from  it, 
I  inquired  what  he  was  smoking;  he  replied  "Joggerry" 
which  is  a  species  of  weed,  used  in  place  of  tobacco. 

Finding  that  he  spoke  good  English,  and  was  quite  com 
municative,  like  most  smokers,  I  sat  down  by  DaUabdool- 
mans,  as  he  called  himself,  and  we  fell  into  conversation. 
So  instructive  was  his  discourse,  that  when  we  parted,  I 
had  considerably  added  to  my  stock  of  knowledge.  Indeed, 
it  is  a  God-send  to  fall  in  with  a  fellow  like  this.  He  knows 
things  you  never  dreamed  of ;  his  experiences  are  like  a  man 


HIS   FIRST   VOYAGE.  219 

from  the  moon — wholly  strange,  a  new  revelation.  If  you 
want  to  learn  romance,  or  gain  an  insight  into  things  quaint, 
curious,  and  marvelous,  drop  your  books  of  travel,  and  take 
a  stroll  along  the  docks  of  a  great  commercial  port.  Ten 
to  one,  you  will  encounter  Crusoe  himself  among  the  crowds 
of  mariners  from  all  parts  of  the  globe. 

But  this  is  no  place  for  making  mention  of  all  the  subjects 
upon  which  I  and  my  Lascar  friend  mostly  discoursed ;  I 
will  only  try  to  give  his  account  of  the  teak-wood  and  kayar 
rope,  concerning  which  things  I  was  curious,  and  sought  in 
formation. 

The  "  sagoon"  as  he  called  the  tree  which  produces  the 
teak,  grows  in  its  greatest  excellence  among  the  mountains 
of  Malabar,  whence  large  quantities  are  sent  to  Bombay  for 
ship-building.  He  also  spoke  of  another  kind  of  wood,  the 
"  sissor,"  which  supplies  most  of  the  "  shin-logs,"  or  "knees" 
and  crooked  timbers  in  the  country  ships.  The  sagoon. 
grows  to  an  immense  size  ;  sometimes  there  is  fifty  feet  of 
trunk,  three  feet  through,  before  a  single  bough  is  put  forth. 
Its  leaves  are  very  large  ;  and  to  convey  some  idea  of  them, 
my  Lascar  likened  them  to  elephants'  ears.  He  said  a 
purple  dye  was  extracted  from  them,  for  the  purpose  of 
staining  cottons  and  silks.  The  wood  is  specifically  heavier 
than  water  ;  it  is  easily  worked,  and  extremely  strong  and 
durable.  But  its  chief  merit  lies  in  resisting  the  action  of 
the  salt  water,  and  the  attacks  of  insects  ;  which  resistance 
is  caused  by  its  containing  a  resinous  oil  called  "  poonja" 

To  my  surprise,  he  informed  me  that  the  Irrawaddy  was 
wholly  built  by  the  native  shipwrights  of  India,  who,  he 
modestly  asserted,  surpassed  the  European  artisans. 

The  rigging,  also,  was  of  native  manufacture.  As  the 
kayar,  of  which  it  is  composed,  is  now  getting  into  use  both 
in  England  and  America,  as  well  for  ropes  and  rigging  as 
for  mats  and  rugs,  my  Lascar  friend's  account  of  it,  joined 
to  my  own  observations,  may  not  be  uninteresting. 

In  India,  it  is  prepared  very  much  in  the  same  way  as 


220  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


in  Polynesia.  The  cocoa-nut  is  gathered  while  the  husk  is 
still  green,  and  but  partially  ripe ;  and  this  husk  is  removed 
by  striking  the  nut  forcibly,  with  both  hands,  upon  a  sharp- 
pointed  stake,  planted  uprightly  in  the  ground.  In  this  way 
a  boy  will  strip  nearly  fifteen  hundred  in  a  day.  But  the 
kayar  is  not  made  from  the  husk,  as  might  be  supposed,  but 
from  the  rind  of  the  nut ;  which,  after  being  long  soaked  in 
water,  is  beaten  with  mallets,  and  rubbed  together  into  fibers. 
After  this  being  dried  in  the  sun,  you  may  spin  it,  just  like 
hemp,  or  any  similar  substance.  The  fiber  thus  produced 
makes  very  strong  and  durable  ropes,  extremely  well  adapt 
ed,  from  their  lightness  and  durability,  for  the  running  rigging 
of  a  ship  ;  while  the  same  causes,  united  with  its  great 
strength  and  buoyancy,  render  it  very  suitable  for  large  cables 
and  hawsers. 

But  the  elasticity  of  the  kayar  ill  fits  it  for  the  shrouds 
and  standing-rigging  of  a  ship,  which  require  to  be  compara 
tively  firm.  Hence,  as  the  Irrawaddy's  shrouds  were  all  of 
this  substance,  the  Lascar  told  me,  they  were  continually 
setting  up  or  slacking  off  her  standing-rigging,  according  as 
the  weather  was  cold  or  warm.  And  the  loss  of  a  foretop- 
mast,  between  the  tropics,  in  a  squall,  he  attributed  to  this 
circumstance. 

After  a  stay  of  about  two  weeks,  the  Irrawaddy  had  her 
heavy  Indian  spars  replaced  with  Canadian  pine,  and  her 
kayar  shrouds  with  hempen  ones.  She  then  mustered  her 
pagans,  and  hoisted  sail  for  London. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

GALLIOTS,    COAST-OF-GUINEA-MAN,   AND   FLOATING   CHAPEL. 

ANOTHER  very  curious  craft  often  seen  in  the  Liverpool 
docks,  is  the  Dutch  galliot,  an  old-fashioned  looking  gentle 
man,  with  hollow  waist,  high  prow  and  stern,  and  which, 
seen  lying  among  crowds  of  tight  Yankee  traders,  and  pert 
French  brigantines,  always  reminded  me  of  a  cocked  hat 
among  modish  beavers. 

The  construction  of  the  galliot  has  not  altered  for  centu 
ries  ;  and  the  northern  European  nations,  Danes  and  Dutch, 
still  sail  the  salt  seas  in  this  flat-bottomed  salt-cellar  of  a 
ship ;  although,  in  addition  to  these,  they  have  vessels  of  a 
more  modern  kind. 

They  seldom  paint  the  galHot ;  but  scrape  and  varnish  all 
its  planks  and  spars,  so  that  all  over  it  resembles  the 
"  bright  side,"  or  polished  streak,  usually  banding  round  an 
American  ship. 

Some  of  them  are  kept  scrupulously  neat  and  clean,  and 
remind  one  of  a  well-scrubbed  wooden  platter,  or  an  old  oak 
table,  upon  which  much  wax  and  elbow  vigor  has  been  ex 
pended.  Before  the  wind,  they  sail  well ;  but  on  a  bowline, 
owing  to  their  broad  hulls  and  flat  bottoms,  they  make  lee 
way  at  a  sad  rate. 

Every  day,  some  strange  vessel  entered  Prince's  Dock  ; 
and  hardly  would  I  gaze  my  fill  at  some  outlandish  craft 
from  Surat  or  the  .Levant,  ere  a  still  more  outlandish  one 
would  absorb  my  attention. 

Among  others,  I  remember,* was  a  little  brig  from  the 
Coast  of  Guinea.  In  appearance,  she  was  the  ideal  of  a 


222  REDBURN: 


slaver ;  low,  black,  clipper-built  about  the  bows,  and  her 
decks  in  a  state  of  most  piratical  disorder. 

She  carried  a  long,  rusty  gun,  on  a  swivel,  amid-ships  ; 
and  that  gun  was  a  curiosity  in  itself.  It  must  have  been 
some  old  veteran,  condemned  by  the  government,  and  sold 
for  any  thing  it  would  fetch.  It  was  an  antique,  covered 
with  half-effaced  inscriptions,  crowns,  anchors,  eagles ;  and 
it  had  two  handles  near  the  trunnions,  like  those  of  a  tureen. 
The  knob  on  the  breach  was  fashioned  into  a  dolphin's  head ; 
and  by  a  comical  conceit,  the  touch-hole  formed  the  orifice 
of  a  human  ear ;  and  a  stout  tympanum  it  must  have  had, 
to  have  withstood  the  concussions  it  had  heard. 

The  brig,  heavily  loaded,  lay  between  two  large  ships  in 
ballast ;  so  that  its  deck  was  at  least  twenty  feet  below 
those  of  its  neighbors.  Thus  shut  in,  its  hatchways  looked 
like  the  entrance  to  deep  vaults  or  mines  ;  especially  as  her 
men  were  wheeling  out  of  her  hold  some  kind  of  ore,  which 
might  have  been  gold  ore,  so  scrupulous  were  they  in  even 
ing  the  bushel  measures,  in  which  they  transferred  it  to  the 
quay  ;  and  so  particular  was  the  captain,  a  dark-skinned 
whiskerando,  in  a  Maltese  cap  and  tassel,  in  standing  over 
the  sailors,  with  his  pencil  and  memorandum-book  in  hand. 

The  crew  were  a  bucaniering  looking  set ;  with  hairy 
chests,  purple  shirts,  and  arms  wildly  tattooed.  The  mate 
had  a  wooden  leg,  and  hobbled  about  with  a  crooked  cane 
like  a  spiral  staircase.  There  was  a  deal  of  swearing  on 
board  of  this  craft,  which  was  rendered  the  more  reprehensi 
ble  when  she  carne  to  moor  alongside  the  Floating  Chapel. 

This  was  the  hull  of  an  old  sloop-of-war,  which  had  been 
converted  into  a  mariner's  church.  A  house  had  been  built 
upon  it,  and  a  steeple  took  the  place  of  a  mast.  There  was 
a  little  balcony  near  the  base  of  the  steeple,  some  twenty 
feet  from  the  water  ;  where,  on  week-days,  I  used  to  see  an 
old  pensioner  of  a  tar,  sitting  on  a  camp-stool,  reading  his 
Bible.  On  Sundays  he  hoisted  the  Bethel  flag,  and  like  the 
muezzin  or  cryer  of  prayers  on  the  top  of  a  Turkish  mosque, 


HIS    F  I  US  T    V  O  Y  A  G  B.  223 

would  call  the  strolling  sailors  to  their  devotions ;  not  official 
ly,  but  on  his  own  account ;  conjuring  them  not  to  make  fools 
of  themselves,  but  muster  round  the  pulpit,  as  they  did  about 
the  capstan  on  a  man-of-war.  This  old  worthy  was  the 
sexton.  I  attended  the  chapel  several  times,  and  found 
there  a  very  orderly  but  small  congregation.  The  first 
time  I  went,  the  chaplain  was  discoursing  of  future  punish 
ments,  and  making  allusions  to  the  Tartarean  Lake ;  which, 
coupled  with  the  pitchy  smell  of  the  old  hull,  summoned 
up  the  most  forcible  image  of  the  thing  which  I  ever  ex 
perienced. 

The  floating  chapels  which  are  to  be  found  in  some  of  the 
docks,  form  one  of  the  means  which  have  been  tried  to  in 
duce  the  seamen  visiting  Liverpool  to  turn  their  thoughts 
toward  serious  things.  But  as  very  few  of  them  ever  think 
of  entering  these  chapels,  though  they  might  pass  them 
twenty  times  in  the  day,  some  of  the  clergy,  of  a  Sunday, 
address  them  in  the  open  air,  from  the  corners  of  the  quays, 
or  wherever  they  can  procure  an  audience. 

Whenever,-  in  my  Sunday  strolls,  I  caught  sight  of  one 
of  these  congregations,  I  always  made  a  point  of  joining  it ; 
and  would  find  myself  surrounded  by  a  motley  crowd  of  sea 
men  from  all  quarters  of  the  globe,  and  women,  and  lumpers, 
and  dock  laborers  of  all  sorts.  Frequently  the  clergyman 
would  be  standing  upon  an  old  cask,  arrayed  in  full  canoni 
cals,  as  a  divine  of  the  Church  of  England.  Never  have  I 
heard  religious  discourses  better  adapted  to  an  audience  of 
men,  who,  like  sailors,  are  chiefly,  if  not  only,  to  be  moved 
by  the  plainest  of  precepts,  and  demonstrations  of  the  misery 
of  sin,  as  conclusive  and  undeniable  as  those  of  Euclid.  No 
mere  rhetoric  avails  with  such  men  ;  fine  periods  are  vanity. 
You  can  not  touch  them  with  tropes.  They  need  to  be 
pressed  home  by  plain  facts. 

And  such  was  generally  the  mode  in  which  they  were 
addressed  by  the  clergy  in  question  :  who,  taking  familiar 
themes  for  their  discourses,  which  were  leveled  right  at  the 


224  REDBURN: 


wants  of  their  auditors,  always  succeeded  in  fastening  their 
attention.  In  particular,  the  two  great  vices  to  which  sailors 
are  most  addicted,  and  which  they  practice  to  the  ruin  of 
both  hody  and  soul ;  these  things,  were  the  most  enlarged 
upon.  And  several  times  on  the  docks,  I  have  seen  a  robed 
clergyman  addressing  a  large  audience  of  women  collected 
from  the  notorious  lanes  and  alleys  in  the  neighborhood. 

Is  not  this  as  it  ought  to  be  ?  since  the  true  calling  of  the 
reverend  clergy  is  like  their  divine  Master's  ; — not  to  bring 
the  righteous,  but  sinners  to  repentance.  Did  some  of  them 
leave  the  converted  and  comfortable  .congregations,  before 
whom  they  have  ministered  year  after  year ;  and  plunge  at 
once,  like  St.  Paul,  into  the  infected  centers  and  hearts  of 
vice  :  then  indeed,  would  they  find  a  strong  enemy  to  cope 
with  ;  and  a  victory  gained  over  him,  would  entitle  them  to 
a  conqueror's  wreath.  Better  to  save  one  sinner  from  an 
obvious  vice  that  is  destroying  him,  than  to  indoctrinate  ten 
thousand  saints.  And  as  from  every  corner,  in  Catholic 
towns,  the  shrines  of  Holy  Mary  and  the  Child  Jesus  per 
petually  remind  the  commonest  wayfarer  of  his  heaven  ;  even 
so  should  Protestant  pulpits  be  founded  in  the  market-places, 
and  at  street  corners,  where  the  men  of  God  might  be  heard 
by  all  of  His  children. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

THE    OLD    CHURCH    OF    ST.    NICHOLAS,    AND    THE    DEAD-HOUSE. 

THE  floating  chapel  recalls  to  mind  the  "  Old  Church," 
well  known  to  the  seamen  of  many  generations,  who  have 
visited  Liverpool.  It  stands  very  near  the  docks,  a  vener 
able  mass  of  brown  stone,  and  by  the  town's  people  is  called 
the  Church  of  St.  Nicholas.  I  believe  it  is  the  best  pre 
served  piece  of  antiquity  in  all  Liverpool. 

Before  the  town  rose  to  any  importance,  it  was  the  only 
place  of  worship  on  that  side  of  the  Mersey  ;  and  under  the 
adjoining  Parish  of  Walton  was  a  chapel-of-ease ;  though 
from  the  straight  backed  pews,  there  could  have  been  but 
little  comfort  taken  in  it. 

In  old  times,  there  stood  in  front  of  the  church  a  statue 
of  St.  Nicholas,  the  patron  of  mariners ;  to  which  all  pious 
sailors  made  offerings,  to  induce  his  saiatship  to  grant  them 
short  and  prosperous  voyages.  In  the  tower  is  a  fine  chime 
of  bells  ;  and  I  well  remember  my  delight  at  first  hearing 
them  on  the  first  Sunday  morning  after  our  arrival  in  the 
dock.  It  seemed  to  carry  an  admonition  with  it ;  something 
like  the  premonition  conveyed  to  young  Whittington  by  Bow 
Bells.  "  Wellingborough !  Wellingborough  f  you,  must 
not  forget  to  ga  to  church,  Wellingborough!  Don't  for 
get,  Wellingborough!  Wellingborough!  dorit forget!" 

Thirty  or  forty  years  ago,  these  bells  were  rung  upon  the 
arrival  of  every  Liverpool  ship  from  a  foreign  voyage.  How 
forcibly  does  this  illustrate  the  increase  of  the  commerce  of 
the  town  !  Were  the  same  custom  now  observed,  the  bells 
would  seldom  have  a  chance  to  cease. 

What  seemed  the  most  remarkable  about  this  venerable 
K* 


226  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


old  church,  and  what  seemed  the  most  barbarous,  and  grated 
upon  the  veneration  with  which  I  regarded  this  time-hallowed 
structure,  was  the  condition  of  the  grave-yard  surrounding 
it.  From  its  close  vicinity  to  the  haunts  of  the  swarms  of 
laborers  about  the  docks,  it  is  crossed  and  re-crossed  by 
thoroughfares  in  all  directions ;  and  the  tomb-stones,  not 
being  erect,  but  horizontal  (indeed,  they  form  a  complete 
flagging  to  the  spot),  multitudes  are  constantly  walking  over 
the  dead  ;  their  heels  erasing  the  death's-heads  and  cross- 
bones,  the  last  mementos  of  the  departed.  At  noon,  when 
the  lumpers  employed  in  loading  and  unloading^  the  shipping, 
retire  for  an  hour  to  snatch  a  dinner,  many  of  them  resort  to 
the  grave-yard  ;  and  seating  themselves  upon  a  tomb-stone 
use  the  adjoining  one  for  a  table.  Often,  I  saw  men 
stretched  out  in  a  drunken  sleep  upon  these  slabs  ;  and 
once,  removing  a  fellow's  arm,  read  the  following  inscription, 
which,  in  a  manner,  was  true  to  the  life,  if  not  to  the 
death : — 

HERE  LYETH  YE  BODY  OF 
TOBIAS  DRINKER. 

For  two  memorable  circumstances  connected  with  this 
church,  I  am  indebted  to  my  excellent  friend,  Morocco,  who 
tells  me  that  in  1588  the  Earl  of  Derby,  coming  to  his 
residence,  and  waiting  for  a  passage  to  the  Isle  of  Man,  the 
corporation  erected  and  adorned  a  sumptuous  stall  in  the 
church  for  his  reception,  And  moreover,  that  in  the  time 
of  Cromwell's  wars,  when  the  place  was  taken  by  that  mad 
nephew  of  King  Charles,  Prince  Rupert,  he  converted  the 
old  church  into  a  military  prison  and  stable ;  when,  no 
doubt,  another  "sumptuous  stall"  was  erected  for  the  bene 
fit  of  the  steed  of  some  noble  cavalry  officer. 

In  the  basement  of  the  church  is  a  Dead  House,  like  the 
Morgue  in  Paris,  where  the  bodies  of  the  drowned  are  ex 
posed  until  claimed  by  their  friends,  or  till  buried  at  the 
public  charge. 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  227 

Fron>  the  multitudes  employed  about  the  shipping,  this 
dead-house  has  always  more  or  less  occupants.  Whenever 
I  passed  up  Chapel-street,  I  used  to  see  a  crowd  gazing 
through  the  grim  iron  grating  of  the  door,  upon  the  faces  of  the 
drowned  within.  And  onee,  when  the  door  was  opened,  I 
saw  a  sailor  stretched  out,  stark  and  stiff,  with  the  sleeve  of 
his  frock  rolled  up,  and  showing  his  name  and  date  of  birth 
tattooed  upon  his  arm.  ,  It  was  a  sight  full  of  suggestions  ; 
he  seemed  his  own  head-stone. 

I  was  told  that  standing  rewards  are  offered  for  the  re 
covery  of  persons  falling  into  the  docks ;  so  much,  if  restored 
to  life,  and  a  less  amount  if  irrecoverably  drowned.  Lured 
by '  this,  several  horrid  old  men  and  women  are  constantly 
prying  about  the  docks,  searching  after  bodies.  I  observed 
them  principally  early  in  the  morning,  when  they  issued 
from  their  dens,  on  the  same  principle  that  the  rag-rakers, 
and  rubbish-pickers  in  the  streets,  sally  out  bright  and  early ; 
for  then,  the  night-harvest  has  ripened. 

There  seems  to  be  no  calamity  overtaking  man,  that  can 
not  be  rendered  merchantable.  Undertakers,  sextons,  tomb- 
makers,  and  hearse-drivers,  get  their  living  from  the  dead  ; 
and  in  times  of  plague  most  thrive.  And  these  miserable 
old  men  and  women  hunted  after  corpses  to  keep  from 
going  to  the  church-yard  themselves  ;  for  they  were  the 
most  wretched  of  starvelings. 


CHAPTER,   XXXVII. 

WHAT  REDBURN  SAW  IN  LAUNCELOTT's-HEY. 

THE  Dead-house  reminds  me  of  other  sad  things  ;  for  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  docks  are  many  very  painful  sights. 

In  going  to  our  boarding-house,  the  sign  of  the  Baltimore 
Clipper,  I  generally  passed  through  a  narrow  street  called 
"  Launcelott's-Hey,"  lined  with  dingy,  prison-like  cotton 
warehouses.  In  this  street,  or  rather  alley,  you  seldom  see 
any  one  but  a  truck-man,  or  some  solitary  old  warehouse- 
keeper,  haunting  his  smoky  den  like  a  ghost. 

Once,  passing  through  this  place,  I  heard  a  feeble  wail, 
which  seemed  to  come  out  of  the  earth.  It  was  but  a  strip 
of  crooked  side- walk  where  I  stood  ;  the  dingy  wall  was  on 
every  side,  converting  the  mid-day  into  twilight;  and  not  a 
soul  was  in  sight.  I  started,  and  could  almost  have  run, 
when  I  heard  that  dismal  sound.  It  seemed  the  low,  hope 
less,  endless  wail  of  some  one  forever  lost.  At  last  I  ad 
vanced  to  an  opening  which  communicated  downward  with 
deep  tiers  of  cellars  beneath  a  crumbling  old  warehouse ;  and 
there,  some  fifteen  feet  below  the  walk,  crouching  in  name 
less  squalor,  with  her  head  bowed  over,  was  the  figure  of 
what  had  been  a  woman.  Her  blue  arms  folded  to  her  livid 
bosom  two  shrunken  things  like  children,  that  leaned  toward 
her,  one  on  each  side.  At  first,  I  knew  not  whether  they 
were  alive  or  dead.  They  made  no  sign ;  they  did  not 
move  or  stir ;  but  from  the  vault  came  that  soul-sickening 
wail. 

I  made  a  noise  with  my  foot,  which,  in  the  silence, 
echoed  far  and  near ;  but  there  was  no  response.  Louder 
still ;  when  one  of  the  children  lifted  its  head,  and  cast  up- 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  220 

ward  a  faint  glance ;  then  closed  its  eyes,  and  lay  motionless. 
The  woman  also,  now  gazed  up,  and  perceived  me  ;  but  let 
fall  her  eye  again.  They  were  dumb  and  next  to  dead  with 
want.  How  they  had  crawled  into  that  den,  I  could  not 
tell ;  but  there  they  had  "crawled  to  die.  At  that  moment 
I  never  thought  of  relieving  them ;  for  death  was  so  stamped 
in  their  glazed  and  unimploring  eyes,  that  I  almost  regarded 
them  as  already  no  more.  I  stood  looking  down  on  them, 
while  my  whole  soul  swelled  within  me ;  and  I  asked  myself, 
What  right  had  any  body  in  the  wide  world  to  smile  and 
be  glad,  when  sights  like  this  were  to  be  seen  ?  It  was 
enough  to  turn  the  heart  to  gall;  and  make  a  man-hater  of 
a  Howard.  .For  who  were  these  ghosts  that  I  saw?  Were 
they  not  human  beings  ?  A  woman  and  two  girls  ?  With 
eyes,  arid  lips,  and  ears  like  any  queen  ?  with  hearts  which, 
though  they  did  riot  bound  with  blood,  yet  beat  with  a  dull, 
dead  ache  that  was  their  life. 

At  last,  I  walked  on  toward  an  open  lot  in  the  alley, 
hoping  to  meet  there  some  ragged  old  women,  whom  I  had 
daily  noticed  groping  amid  foul  rubbish  for  little  particles  of 
dirty  cotton,  which  they  washed  out  and  sold  for  a  trifle. 

I  found  them ;  and  accosting  one,  I  asked  if  she  knew 
of  the  persons  I  had  just  left.  She  replied,  that  she  did 
not ;  nor  did  she  want  to.  I  then  asked  another,  a  miser 
able,  toothless  old  woman,  with  a  tattered  strip  of  coarse 
baling  stuff  round  her  body.  Looking  at  me  for  an  instant, 
she  resumed  her  raking  in  the  rubbish,  and  said  that  she 
knew  who  it  was  that  I  spoke  of;  but  that  she  had  no  time 
to  attend  to  beggars  and  their  brats.  Accosting  still  anoth 
er,  who  seemed  to  know  my  erjand,  I  asked  if  there  was  no 
place  to  which  the  woman  could  be  taken,  "  Yes,"  she 
replied,  "  to  the  church-yard."  I  said  she  was  alive,  and 
not  dead. 

"Then  she'll  never  die,"  was  the  rejoinder.  "She's 
been  down  there  these  three  days,  with  nothing  to  eat  ;• — 
that  I  know  myself." 


230  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


"  She  desarves  it,"  said  an  old  hag,  who  was  just  placing 
on  her  crooked  shoulders  her  bag  of  pickings,  and  who  was 
turning  to  totter  off,  "  that  Betsey  Jennings  desarves  it — 
was  she  ever  married  ?  tell  me  that." 

Leaving  Launcelott's-Hey,  I  turned  into  a  more  frequent 
ed  street ;  and  soon  meeting  a  policeman,  told  him  of  the 
condition  of  the  woman  and  the  girls. 

"  It's  none  of  my  business,  Jack,"  said  he.  "  I  don't 
belong  to  that  street." 

"Who  does  then?" 

"  I  don't  know.  But  what  business  is  it  of  yours  ?  Are 
you  not  a  Yankee  ?" 

"Yes,"  said  I,  "but  come,  I  will  help  you  remove  that 
woman,  if  you  say  so." 

"  There,  now,  Jack,  go  on  board  your  ship,  and  stick  to 
it ;  and  leave  these  matters  to  the  town." 

I  accosted  two  more  policemen,  but  with  no  better  suc 
cess  ;  they  would  not  even  go  with  me  to  the  place.  The 
truth  was,  it  was  out  of  the  way,  in  a  silent,  secluded  spot ; 
and  the  misery  of  the  three  outcasts,  hiding  away  in  the 
ground,  did  not  obtrude  upon  any  one. 

Returning  to  them,  I  again  stamped  to  attract  their  at 
tention  ;  but  this  time,  none  of  the  three  looked  up,  or  even 
stirred.  While  I  yet  stood  irresolute,  a  voice  called  to  me 
from  a  high,  iron-shuttered  window  in  a  loft  over  the  way  ; 
and  asked  what  I  was  about.  I  beckoned  to  the  man,  a  sort 
of  porter,  to  come  down,  which  he  did ;  when  I  pointed 
down  into  the  vault. 

«  Well,"  said  he,  «  what  of  it  ?" 

"  Can't  we  get  them  out  ?"  said  I,  "  haven't  you  some 
place  in  your  warehouse  where  you  can  put  them  ?  have 
you  nothing  for  them  to  eat  ?" 

"  You're  crazy,  boy,"  said  he ;  "  do  you  suppose,  that 
Parkins  and  Wood  want  their  warehouse  turned  into  a  hos 
pital  ?" 

I  then  went  to  my  boarding-house,  and  told  Handsome 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  231 

Mary  of  what  I  had  seen  ;  asking  her  if  she  could  not  do 
something  to  get  the  woman'  and  girls  removed  ;  or  if  she 
could  not  do  that,  let  me  have  some  food  for  them.  But 
though  a  kind  person  in  the  main,  Mary  replied  that  she 
gave  away  enough  to  beggars  in  her  own  street  (which 
was  true  enough)  without  looking  after  the  whole  neigh 
borhood. 

Going  into  the  kitchen,  I  accosted  the  cook,  a  little  shriv- 
eled-up  old  Welshwoman,  with  a  saucy  tongue,  whom  the 
sailors  called  Brandy- Nan ;  and  begged  her  to  give  me 
some  cold  victuals,  if  she  had  nothing  better,  to  take  to  the 
vault.  But  she  broke  out  in  a  storm  of  swearing  at  the 
miserable  occupants  of  the  vault,  and  refused.  I  then  stepped 
into  the  room  where  our  dinner  was  being  spread  ;  and 
waiting  till  the  girl  had  gone  out,  I  snatched  some  bread 
and  cheese  from  a  stand,  and  thrusting  it  into  the  bosom  of 
my  frock,  left  the  house.  Hurrying  to  the  lane,  I  dropped 
the  food  down  into  the  vault.  One  of  the  girls  caught  at 
it  convVlsively,  but  fell  back,  apparently  fainting  ;  the  sister 
pushed  the  other's  arm  aside,  and  took  the  bread  in  her 
hand  ;  but  with  a  weak  uncertain  grasp  like  an  infant's. 
She  placed  it  to  her  mouth ;  but  letting  it  fall  again,  mur 
mured  faintly  something  like  "  water."  The  woman  did  not 
stir ;  her  head  was  bowed  over,  just  as  I  had  first  seen  her. 

Seeing  how  it  was,  I  ran  down  toward  the  docks  to  a 
mean  little  sailor  tavern,  and  begged  for  a  pitcher ;  but  the 
cross  old  man  who  kept  it  refused,  unless  I  would  pay  for  it. 
But  I  had  no  money.  So  as  my  boarding-house  was  some 
way  off,  and  it  would  be  lost  time  to  run  to  the  ship  for  my 
big  iron  pot ;  under  the  impulse  of  the  moment,  I  hurried 
to  one  of  the  Boodle  Hydrants,  which  I  remembered  having 
seen  running  near  the  scene  of  a  still  smoldering  fire  in  an 
old  rag  house  ;  and  taking  off  a  new  tarpaulin  hat,  which 
had  been  loaned  me  that  day,  filled  it  with  water. 

With  this,  I  returned  to  Launcelott's-Hey  ;  and  with 
considerable  difficulty,  like  getting  down  into  a  well,  I  con- 


232  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


trived  to  descend  with  it  into  the  vault ;  where  there  was 
hardly  space  enough  left  to  let  me  stand.  The  two  girls 
drank  out  of  the  hat  together ;  looking  up  at  me  with  an 
unalterable,  idiotic  expression,  that  almost  made  me  faint. 
The  woman  spoke  not  a  word,  and  did  not  stir.  While  the 
girls  were  breaking  and  eating  the  bread,  I  tried  to  lift  the 
woman's  head ;  but,  feeble  as  she  was,  she  seemed  bent 
upon  holding  it  down.  Observing  her  arms  still  clasped 
upon  her  bosom,  and  that  something  seemed  hidden  under 
the  rags  there,  a  thought  crossed  my  mind,  which  impelled 
me  forcibly  to  withdraw  her  hands  for  a  moment ;  when  I 
caught  a  glimpse  of  a  meager  little  babe,  the  lower  part  of 
its  body  thrust  into  an  old  bonnet.  Its  face  was  dazzlingly 
white,  even  in  its  squalor  ;  but  the  closed  eyes  looked  like 
balls  of  indigo.  It  must  have  been  dead  some  hours. 

The  woman  refusing  to  speak,  eat,  or  drink,  I  asked  one 
of  the  girls  who  they  were,  and  where  they  lived  ;  but  she 
only  stared  vacantly,  muttering  something  that  could  not  be 
understood. 

The  air  of  the  place  was  now  getting  too  much  for  me  ; 
but  I  stood  deliberating  a  moment,  whether  it  was  possible 
for  me  to  drag  them  out  of  the  vault.  But  if  I  did,  what 
then  ?  They  would  only  perish  in  the  street,  and  here  they 
were  at  least  protected  from  the  rain ;  and  more  than  that, 
might  die  in  seclusion. 

I  crawled  up  into  the  street,  arid  looking  down  upon  them 
again,  almost  repented  that  I  had  brought  them  any  food  ; 
for  it  would  only  tend  to  prolong  their  misery,  without  hope 
of  any  permanent  relief :  for  die  they  must  very  soon  ;  they 
were  too  far  gone  for  any  medicine  to  help  them.  I  hardly 
know  whether  I  ought  to  confess  another  thing  that  occurred 
to  me  as  I  stood  there  ;  but  it  was  this — I  felt  an  almost 
irresistible  impulse  to  do  them  the  last  mercy,  of  in  some 
way  putting  an  end  to  their  horrible  lives ;  and  I  should 
almost  have  done  so,  I  think,  had  I  not  been  deterred  by 
thoughts  of  the  law.  For  I  well  knew  that  the  law,  which 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  <>33 

would  let  them  perish  of  themselves  without  giving  them, 
one  cup  of  water,  would  spend  a  thousand  pounds,  if  neces 
sary,  in  convicting  him  who  should  so  much  as  offer  to 
relieve  them  from  their  miserable  existence. 

The  next  day,  and  the  next,  I  passed  the  vault  three 
times,  and  still  met  the  same  sight.  The  girls  leaning 
up  against  the  woman  on  each  side,  and  the  woman  with 
her  arms  still  folding  the  babe,  and  her  head  bowed.  The 
first  evening  I  did  not  see  the  bread  that  I  had  dropped 
down  in  the  morning ;  but  the  second  evening,  the  bread 
I  had  dropped  that  morning  remained  untouched.  On 
the  third  morning  the  smell  that  came  from  the  vault  was 
such,  that  I  accosted  the  same  policeman  I  had  accosted 
before,  who  was  patrolling  the  same  street,  and  told  him 
that  the  persons  I  had  spoken  to  him  about  were  dead, 
and  he  had  better  have  them  removed.  He  looked  as 
if  he  did  not  believe  me,  and  added,  that  it  was  not  his 
street. 

When  I  arrived  at  the  docks  on  my  way  to  the  ship,  I 
entered  the  guard-house  within  the  walls,  and  asked  for  one 
of  the  captains,  to  whom  I  told  the  story  ;  but,  from  what 
he  said,  was  led  to  infer  that  the  Dock  Police  was  distinct 
from  that  of  the  town,  and  this  was  not  the  right  place  to 
lodge  my  information. 

I  could  do  no  more  that  morning,  being  obliged  to  repair 
to  the  ship  ;  but  at  twelve  o'clock,  when  I  went  to  dinner, 
I  hurried  into  Launcelott's-Hey,  when  I  found  that  the  vault 
was  empty.  In  place  of  the  women  and  children,  a  heap  of 
quick-lime  was  glistening. 

I  could  not  learn  who  had  taken  them  away,  or  whither 
they  had  gone ;  but  my  prayer  was  answered — they  were 
dead,  departed,  and  at  peace. 

But  again  I  looked  down  into  the  vault,  and  in  fancy 
beheld  the  pale,  shrunken  forms  still  crouching  there.  Ah  ! 
what  are  our  creeds,  and  how  do  we  hope  to  be  saved  ? 
Tell  me,  oh  Bible,  that  story  of  Lazarus  again,  that  I  may 


234  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


find  comfort  in  ray  heart  for  the  poor  and  forlorn.  Sur 
rounded  as  we  are  by  the  wants  and  woes  of  our  fellow-men, 
and  yet  given  to  follow  our  own  pleasures,  regardless  of  their 
pains,  are  we  not  like  people  sitting  up  with  a  corpse,  and 
making  merry  in  the  house  of  the  dead  ? 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

THE   DOCK-WALL   BEGGARS. 

I  MIGHT  relate  other  things  which  befell  me  during  the 
six  weeks  and  more  that  I  remained  in  Liverpool,  often  visit 
ing  the  cellars,  sinks,  and  hovels  of  the  wretched  lanes  and 
courts  near  the  river.  But  to  tell  of  them,  would  only  be 
to  tell  over  again  the  story  just  told ;  so  I  return  to  the 
docks. 

The  old  women  described  as  picking  dirty  fragments  of 
cotton  in  the  empty  lot,  belong  to  the  same  class  of  beings 
who  at  all  hours  of  the  day  are  to  be  seen  within  the 
dock  walls,  raking  over  and  over  the  heaps  of  rubbish  car 
ried  ashore  from  the  holds  of  the  shipping. 

As  it  is  against  the  law  to  throw  the  least  thing  over 
board,  even  a  rope  yarn  ;  and  as  this  law  is  very  different 
from  similar  laws  in  New- York,  inasmuch  as  it  is  rigidly  en 
forced  by  the  dock-masters ;  and,  moreover,  as  after  discharg 
ing  a  ship's  cargo,  a  great  deal  of  dirt  and  worthless  dun 
nage  remains  in  the  hold,  the  amount  of  rubbish  accumu 
lated  in  the  appointed  receptacles  for  depositing  it  within  the 
walls  is  extremely  large,  and  is  constantly  receiving  new 
accessions  from  every  vessel  that  unlades  at  the  quays. 

Standing  over  these  noisome  heaps,  you  will  see  scores  of 
tattered  wretches,  armed  with  old  rakes  and  picking-irons, 
turning  over  the  dirt,  and  making  as  much  of  a  rope-yarn  as 
if  it  were  a  skein  of  silk.  Their  findings,  nevertheless,  are 
but  small ;  for  as  it  is  one  of  the  immemorial  perquisites  of 
the  second  mate  of  a  merchant  ship  to  collect,  and  sell 
on  his  own  account,  all  the  condemned  "  old  junk"  of  the 
vessel  to  which  he  belongs,  he  generally  takes  good  heed  that 


REDBURN: 


in  the  buckets  of  rubbish  carried  ashore,  there  shall  be  as 
few  rope-yarns  as  possible. 

In  the  same  way,  the  cook  preserves  all  the  odds  and 
ends  of  pork-rinds  and  beef-fat,  which  he  sells  at  considera 
ble  profit ;  upon  a  six  months'  voyage  frequently  realizing 
thirty  or  forty  dollars  from  the  sale,  and  in  large  ships,  even 
more  than  that.  It  may  easily  be  imagined,  then,  how  des 
perately  driven  to  it  must  these  rubbish-pickers  be,  to  ran 
sack  heaps  of  refuse  which  have  been  previously  gleaned. 

Nor  must  I  omit  to  make  mention  of  the  singular  beg 
gary  practiced  in  the  streets  frequented  by  sailors ;  and  par 
ticularly  to  record  the  remarkable  army  of  paupers  that 
beset  the  docks  at  particular  hours  of  the  day. 

At  twelve  o'clock  the  crews  of  hundreds  and  hundreds  of 
ships  issue  in  crowds  from  the  dock  gates  to  go  to  their  din 
ner  in  the  town.  This  hour  is  seized  upon  by  multitudes 
of  beggars  to  plant  themselves  against  the  outside  of  the 
walls,  while  others  stand  upon  the  curbstone  to  excite  the 
charity  of  the  seamen.  The  first  time  that  I  passed 
through  this  long  lane  of  pauperism,  it  seemed  hard  to  be 
lieve  that  such  an  array  of  misery  could  be  furnished  by  any 
town  in  the  world. 

Every  variety  of  want  and  suffering  here  met  the  eye,  and 
every  vice  showed  here  its  victims.  Nor  were  the  marvel 
ous  and  almost  incredible  shifts  and  stratagems  of  the  pro 
fessional  beggars,  wanting  to  finish  this  picture  of  all  that  is 
dishonorable  to  civilization  and  humanity. 

Old  women,  rather  mummies,  drying  up  with  slow  starv 
ing  and  age  ;  young  girls,  incurably  sick,  who  ought  to  have 
been  in  the  hospital ;  sturdy  men,  with  the  gallows  in  their 
eyes,  and  a  whining  lie  in  their  mouths ;  young  boys,  hol 
low-eyed  and  decrepit ;  and  puny  mothers,  holding  up  puny 
babes  in  the  glare  of  the  sun,  formed  the  main  features  of 
the  scene. 

But  these  were  diversified  by  instances  of  peculiar  suffer 
ing,  vice,  or  art  in  attracting  charity,  which,  to  me  at  least, 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  237 

who  had  never  seen  such  things  before,,  seemed  to  the  last 
degree  uncommon  and  monstrous. 

I  remember  one  cripple,  a  young  man  rather  decently 
clad,  who  sat  huddled  up  against  the  wall,  holding  a  painted 
board  on  his  knees.  It  was  a  picture  intending  to  represent 
the  man  himself  caught  in  the  machinery  of  some  factory, 
and  whirled  about  among  spindles  and  cogs,  with  his  limbs 
mangled  and  bloody.  This  person  said  nothing,  but  sat 
silently  exhibiting  his  board.  Next  him,  leaning  upright 
against  the  wall,  was  a  tall,  pallid  man,  with  a  white  ban 
dage  round  his  brow,  and  his  face  cadaverous  as  a  corpse. 
He,  too,  said  nothing ;  but  with  one  finger  silently  pointed 
down  to  the  square  of  flagging  at  his  feet,  which  was  nicely 
swept,  and  stained  blue,  and  bore  this  inscription  in  chalk : — 

"  I  have  had  no  food  for  three  days  / 
My  wife  and  children  are  dying." 

Further  on  lay  a  man  with  one  sleeve  of  his  ragged  coat 
removed,  showing  an  unsightly  sore ;  and  above  it  a  label 
with  some  writing. 

In  some  places,  for  the  distance  of  many  rods,  the  whole 
line  of  flagging  immediately  at  the  base  of  the  wall,  would 
be  completely  covered  with  inscriptions,  the  beggars  standing 
over  them  in  silence. 

But  as  you  passed  along  these  horrible  records,  in  an 
hour's  time  destined  to  be  obliterated  by  the  feet  of  thousands 
and  thousands  of  wayfarers,  you  were  not  left  unassailed  by 
the  clamorous  petitions  of  the  more  urgent  applicants  for 
charity.  They  beset  you  on  every  hand ;  catching  you 
by  the  coat ;  hanging  on,  and  following  you  along ;  and, 
for  Heaven's  sake,  and  for  God's  sake,  and  for  Christ's 
sake,  beseeching  of  you  but  one  ha'penny.  If  you  so  much 
as  glanced  your  eye  on  one  of  them,  even  for  an  instant, 
it  was  perceived  like  lightning,  and  the  person  never  left 
your  side  until  you  turned  into  another  street,  or  satisfied 
his  demands.  Thus,  at  least,  it  was  with  the  sailors ;  though 


238  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


I  observed  that  the  beggars  treated  the  town's  people  dif 
ferently. 

I  can  not  say  that  the  seamen  did  much  to  relieve  the 
destitution  which  three  times  every  day  was  presented  to 
their  view.  Perhaps  habit  had  made  them  callous  ;  but 
the  truth  might  have  been  that  very  few  of  them  had  much 
money  to  give.  Yet  the  beggars  must  have  had  some  in 
ducement  to  infest  the  dock  walls  as  they  did. 

As  an  example  of  the  caprice  of  sailors,  and  their  sympa 
thy  with  suffering  among  members  of  their  own  calling,  I 
must  mention  the  case  of  an  old  man,  who  every  day,  and 
all  day  long,  through  sunshine  and  rain,  occupied  a  particular 
corner,  where  crowds  of  tars  were  always  passing.  He  was 
an  uncommonly  large,  plethoric  man,  with  a  wooden  leg,  and 
dressed  in  the  nautical  garb ;  his  face  was  red  and  round  ; 
he  was  continually  merry ;  and  with  his  wooden  stump 
thrust  forth,  so  as  almost  to  trip  up  the  careless  wayfarer, 
he  sat  upon  a  great  pile  of  monkey  jackets,  with  a  little  de 
pression  in  them  between  his  knees,  to  receive  the  coppers 
thrown  him.  And  plenty  of  pennies  were  tost  into  his  poor- 
box  by  the  sailors,  who  always  exchanged  a  pleasant  word 
with  the  old  man,  and  passed  on,  generally  regardless  of  the 
neighboring  beggars. 

The  first  morning  I  went  ashore  with  my  shipmates,  some 
of  them  greeted  him  as  an  old  acquaintance ;  for  that  corner 
he  had  occupied  for  many  long  years.  He  was  an  old  man- 
of-war's  man,  who  had  lost  his  leg  at  the  battle  of  Trafalgar ; 
and  singular  to  tell,  he  now  exhibited  his  wooden  one  as  a 
genuine  specimen  of  the  oak  timbers  of  Nelson's  ship,  the 
Victory. 

Among  the  paupers  were  several  who  wore  old  sailor  hats 
and  jackets,  and  claimed  to  be  destitute  tars  ;  and  on  the 
strength  of  these  pretensions  demanded  help  from  their  breth 
ren  ;  but  Jack  would  see  through  their  disguise  in  a  moment, 
and  turn  away,  with  no  benediction. 

As  I  daily  passed  through  this  lane  of  beggars,  who 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  239 

thronged  the  docks  as  the  Hebrew  cripples  did  the  Pool  of 
Bethesda,  and  as  I  thought  of  my  utter  inability  in  any 
way  to  help  them,  I  could  not  but  offer  up  a  prayer, 
that  some  angel  might  descend,  and  turn  the  waters  of  the 
docks  into  an  elixir,  that  would  heal  all  their  woes,  and 
make  them,  man  and  woman,  healthy  and  whole  as  their 
ancestors,  Adam  and  Eve,  in  the  garden. 

Adam  and  Eve  !  If  indeed  ye  are  yet  alive  and  in 
heaven,  may  it  be  no  part  of  your  immortality  to  look  down 
upon  the  world  ye  have  left.  For  as  all  these  sufferers  and 
cripples  are  as  much  your  family  as  young  Abel,  so,  to  you, 
the  sight  of  the  world's  woes  would  be  a  parental  torment 
indeed. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

THE   BOOBLE-ALLEYS   OP    THE    TOWN. 

THE  same  sights  that  are  to  be  met  with  along  the  dock 
walls  at  noon,  in  a  less  degree,  though  diversified  with  other 
scenes,  are  continually  encountered  in  the  narrow  streets 
where  the  sailor  boarding-houses  are  kept. 

In  the  evening,  especially  when  the  sailors  are  gathered 
in  great  numbers,  these  streets  present  a  most  singular  spec 
tacle,  the  entire  population  of  the  vicinity  being  seemingly 
turned  into  them.  Hand-organs,  fiddles,  and  cymbals,  plied 
by  strolling  musicians,  mix  with  the  songs  of  the  seamen, 
the  babble  of  women  and  children,  and  the  groaning  and 
whining  of  beggars.  From  the  various  boarding-houses, 
each  distinguished  by  gilded  emblems  outside — an  anchor,  a 
crown,  a  ship,  a  windlass,  or  a  dolphin — proceeds  the  noise 
of  revelry  and  dancing  ;  and  from  the  open  casements  lean 
young  girls  and  old  women,  chattering  and  laughing  with 
the  crowds  in  the  middle  of  the  street.  Every  moment 
strange  greetings  are  exchanged  between  old  sailors  who 
chance  to  stumble  upon  a  shipmate,  last  seen  in  Calcutta 
or  Savannah  ;  and  the  invariable  courtesy  that  takes  place 
upon  these  occasions,  is  to  go  to  the  next  spirit-vault,  and 
drink  each  other's  health. 

•  There  are  particular  paupers  who  frequent  particular  sec 
tions  of  these  streets,  and  who,  I  was  told,  resented  the  in 
trusion  of  mendicants  from  other  parts  of  the  town. 

Chief  among  them  was  a  white-haired  old  man,  stone- 
blind  ;  who  was  led  up  and  down  through  the  long  tumult 
by  a  woman  holding  a  little  saucer  to  receive  contributions. 
This  old  man  sang,  or  rather  chanted,  certain  words  in  a 


HIS   FIRST   VOYAGE.  241 

peculiarly  long-drawn,  guttural  manner,  throwing  back  his 
head,  and  turning  up  his  sightless  eyeballs  to  the  sky.  His 
chant  was  a  lamentation  upon  his  infirmity  ;  and  at  the 
time  it  produced  the  same  effect  upon  me,  that  my  first 
reading  of  Milton's  Invocation  to  the  Sun  did,  years  after 
ward.  I  can  not  recall  it  all ;  but  it  was  something  like 
this,  drawn  out  in  an  ^ndless  groan — 

"  Here  goes  the  blind  old  man ;  blind,  blind,  blind  ;  no 
more  will  he  see  sun  nor  moon — no  more  see  sun  nor  moon  !" 
And  thus  would  he  pass  through  the  middle  of  the  street ; 
the  woman  going  on  in  advance,  holding  his  hand,  and  drag 
ging  him  through  all  obstructions  ;  now  and  then  leaving 
him  standing,  while  she  went  among  the  crowd  soliciting 
coppers. 

But  one  of  the  most  curious  features  of  the  scene  is  the 
number  of  sailor  ballad-singers,  who,  after  singing  their 
verses,  hand  you  a  printed  copy,  and  beg  you  to  buy.  One 
of  these  persons,  dressed  like  a  man-of-war's-man,  I  observed 
every  day  standing  at  a  corner  in  the  middle  of  the  street. 
He  had  a  full,  noble  voice,  like  a  church-organ ;  and  his 
notes  rose  high  above  the  surrounding  din.  But  the  remark 
able  thing  about  this  ballad-singer  was  one  of  his  arms, 
which,  while  singing,  he  somehow  swung  vertically  round 
and  round  in  the  air,  as  if  it  revolved  on  a  pivot.  The 
feat  was  unnaturally  unaccountable  ;  and  he  performed  it 
with  the  view  of  attracting  sympathy ;  since  he  said  that  in 
falling  from  a  frigate's  mast-head  to  the  deck,  he  had  met 
with  an  injury,  which  had  resulted  in  making  his  wonderful 
arm  what  it  was. 

I  made  the  acquaintance  of  this  man,  and  found  him  no 
common  character.  He  was  full  of  marvelous  adventures, 
and  abounded  in  terrific  stories  of  pirates  and  sea  murders, 
and  all  sorts  of  nautical  enormities.  He  was  a  monomaniac 
upon  these  subjects ;  he  was  a  Newgate  Calendar  of  the 
robberies  and  assassinations  of  the  day,  happening  in  the 
sailor  quarters  of  the  town  ;  and  most  of  his  ballads  were 

L 


242  REDBURN: 


upon  kindred  subjects.  He  composed  many  of  his  own 
verses,  and  had  them  printed  for  sale  on  his  own  account. 
To  show  how  expeditious  he  was  at  this  business,  it  may  be 
mentioned,  that  one  evening-  on  leaving  the  dock  to  go  to 
supper,  I  perceived  a  crowd  gathered  about  the  Old  Fort 
Tavern;  and  mingling  with  the  rest,  I  learned  that  a 
woman  of  the  town  had  just  been  killed  at  the  bar  by  a 
drunken  Spanish  sailor  from  Cadiz.  The  murderer  was 
carried  off  by  the  police  before  my  eyes,  and  the  very  next 
morning  the  ballad-singer  with  the  miraculous  arm,  was 
singing  the  tragedy  in  front  of  the  boarding-houses,  and 
handing  round  printed  copies  of  the  song,  which,  of  course, 
were  eagerly  bought  up  by  the  seamen. 

This  passing  allusion  to  the  murder  will  convey  some 
idea  of  the  events  which  take  place  in  the  lowest  and  most 
abandoned  neighborhoods  frequented  by  sailors  in  Liverpool. 
The  pestilent  lanes  and  alleys  which,  in  their  vocabulary, 
go  by  the  names  of  Rotten-row,  Gibraltar-place,  and  Booble- 
alley,  are  putrid  with  vice  and  crime  ;  to  which,  perhaps, 
the  round  globe  does  not  furnish  a  parallel.  The  sooty  and 
begrimed  bricks  of  the  very  houses  have  a  reeking,  Sodom- 
like,  and  murderous  look  ;  and  well  may  the  shroud  of  coal- 
smoke,  which  hangs  over  this  part  of  the  town,  more  than 
any  other,  attempt  to  hide  the  enormities  here  practiced. 
These  are  the  haunts  from  which  sailors  sometimes  disappear 
forever ;  or  issue  in  the  morning,  robbed  naked,  from  the 
broken  door-ways.  These  are  the  haunts  in  which  cursing, 
gambling,  pickpocketing,  and  common  iniquities,  are  virtues 
too  lofty  for  the  infected  gorgons  and  hydras  to  practice. 
Propriety  forbids  that  I  should  enter  into  details  ;  but  kid 
nappers,  burkers,  and  resurrectionists  are  almost  saints  and 
angels  to  them.  They  seem  leagued  together,  a  company 
of  miscreant  misanthropes,  bent  upon  doing  all  the  malice  to 
mankind  in  their  power.  With  sulphur  and  brimstone  they 
ought  to  be  burned  out  of  their  arches  like  vermin. 


CHAPTER  XL. 

PLACARDS,    BRASS-JEWELERS,     TRUCK-HORSES,    AND    STEAMERS. 

As  I  wish  to  group  together  what  fell  under  my  observa 
tion  concerning  the  Liverpool  docks,  and  the  scenes  round 
about,  I  will  try  to  throw  into  this  chapter  various  minor 
things  that  I  recall. 

The  advertisements  of  pauperism  chalked  upon  the  flag 
ging  round  the  dock  walls,  are  singularly  accompanied  by  a 
multitude  of  quite  different  announcements,  placarded  upon 
the  walls  themselves.  They  are  principally  notices  of  the 
approaching  departure  of  "  superior,  fast-sailing,  coppered 
and  copper-fastened  ships,"  for  the  United  States.  Canada, 
New  South  Wales,  and  other  places.  Interspersed  with 
these,  are  the  advertisements  of  Jewish  clothesmen,  inform 
ing  the  judicious  seaman  where  he  can  procure  of  the  best 
and  the  cheapest ;  together  with  ambiguous  medical  an 
nouncements  of  the  tribe  of  quacks  and  empirics  who  prey 
upon  all  seafaring  men.  Not  content  with  thus  publicly 
giving  notice  of  their  whereabouts,  these  indefatigable 
Sangrados  and  pretended  Samaritans  hire  a  parcel  of 
shabby  workhouse-looking  knaves,  whose  business  consists 
in  haunting  the  dock  walls  about  meal  times,  and  silently 
thrusting  mysterious  little  billets— duodecimo  editions  of 
the  larger  advertisements — into  the  astonished  hands  of  the 
tars. 

They  do  this,  with  such  a  mysterious  hang-dog  wink ; 
such  a  sidelong  air ;  such  a  villainous  assumption  of  your 
necessities ;  that,  at  first,  you  are  almost  tempted  to  knock 
them  down  for  their  pains. 


244  BED  BURN: 


.  Conspicuous  among  the  notices  on  the  walls,  are  huge 
Italic  inducements  to  all  seamen  disgusted  with  the  mer 
chant  service,  to  accept  a  round  bounty,  and  embark  in  her 
Majesty's  navy. 

In  the  British  armed  marine,  in  time  of  peace,  they  do 
not  ship  men  for  the  general  service,  as  in  the  American 
navy  ;  but  for  particular  ships,  going  upon  particular  cruises. 
Thus,  the  frigate  Thetis  may  be  announced  as  about  to  sail 
under  the  command  of  that  fine  old  sailor,  and  noble  father 
to  his  crew,  Lord  George  Flagstaff. 

Similar  announcements  may  be  seen  upon  the  walls  con 
cerning  enlistments  in  the  army.  And  never  did  auctioneer 
dilate  with  more  rapture  upon  the  charms  of  some  country- 
seat  put  up  for  sale,  than  the  authors  of  these  placards  do, 
upon  the  beauty  and  salubrity  of  the  distant  climes,  for 
which  the  regiments  wanting  recruits  are  about  to  sail. 
Bright  lawns,  vine-clad  hills,  endless  meadows  of  verdure, 
here  make  up  the  landscape  ;  and  adventurous  young  gen 
tlemen,  fond  of  travel,  are  informed,  that  here  is  a  chance 
for  them  to  see  the  world  at  their  leisure,  and  be  paid  for 
enjoying  themselves  into  the  bargain.  The  regiments  for 
India  are  promised  plantations  among  valleys  of  palms ; 
while  to  those  destined  for  New  Holland,  a  novel  sphere  of 
life  and  activity  is  opened  ;  and  the  companies  bound  to 
Canada  and  Nova  Scotia  are  lured  by  tales  of  summer 
suns,  that  ripen  grapes  in  December.  No  word  of  war  is 
breathed ;  hushed  is  the  clang  of  arms  in  these  announce 
ments  ;  and  the  sanguine  recruit  is  almost  tempted  to  expect 
that  pruning-hooks,  instead  of  swords,  will  be  the  weapons 
he  will  wield. 

Alas  !  is  not  this  the  cruel  stratagem  of  Bruce  at  Ban- 
nockburn,  who  decoyed  to  his  war-pits  by  covering  them 
over  with  green  boughs  ?  For  instead  of  a  farm  at  the 
blue  base  of  the  Himalayas,  the  Indian  recruit  encounters 
the  keen  saber  of  the  Sikh  ;  and  instead  of  basking  in  sunny 
bowers,  the  Canadian  soldier  stands  a  shivering  sentry  upon 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  245 

the  bleak  ramparts  of  Quebec,  a  lofty  mark  for  the  bitter 
blasts  from  Baffin's  Bay  and  Labrador.  There,  as  his  eye 
sweeps  down  the  St.  Lawrence,  whose  every  billow  is  bound 
for  the  main  that  laves  the  shore  of  Old  England ;  as  he 
thinks  of  his  long  term  of  enlistment,  which  sells  him  to 
the  army  as  Doctor  Faust  sold  himself  to  the  devil ;  how 
the  poor  fellow  must  groan  in  his  grief,  and  call  to  mind  the 
church-yard  stile,  and  his  Mary. 

These  army  announcements  are  well  fitted  to  draw  re 
cruits  in  Liverpool.  Among  the  vast  number  of  emigrants, 
who  daily  arrive  from  all  parts  of  Britain  to  embark  for  the 
United  States  or  the  colonies,  there  are  many  young  men, 
who,  upon  arriving  at  Liverpool,  find  themselves  next  to 
penniless  ;  or,  at  least,  with  only  enough  money  to  carry 
them  over  the  sea,  without  providing  for  future  contingen 
cies.  How  easily  and  naturally,  then,  may  such  youths  be 
induced  to  enter  upon  the  military  life,  which  promises  them 
a  free  passage  to  the  most  distant  and  flourishing  colonies, 
and  certain  pay  for  doing  nothing  ;  besides  holding  out  hopes 
of  vineyards  and  farms,  to  be  verified  in  the  fullness  of 
time.  For  in  a  moneyless  youth,  the  decision  to  leave 
home  at  all,  and  embark  upon  a  long  voyage  to  reside  in 
a  remote  clime,  is  a  piece  of  adventurousness  only  one 
remove  from  the  spirit  that  prompts  the  army  recruit  to 
enlist. 

I  never  passed  these  advertisements,  surrounded  by  crowds 
of  gaping  emigrants,  without  thinking  of  rat-traps. 

Besides  the  mysterious  agents  of  the  quacks,  who  privily 
thrust  their  little  notes  into  your  hands,  folded  up  like  a 
powder  ;  there  are  another  set  of  rascals  prowling  about  the 
docks,  chiefly  at  dusk  ;  who  make  strange  motions  to  you, 
and  beckon  you  to  one  side,  as  if  they  had  some  state  secret 
to  disclose,  intimately  connected  with  the  weal  of  the  com 
monwealth.  They  nudge  you  with  an  elbow  full  of  indefi 
nite  hints  and  intimations  ;  they  glitter  upon  you  an  eye 
like  a  Jew's  or  a  pawnbroker's  ;  they  dog  you  like  Italian 


246  REDBURN: 


assassins.  But  if  the  blue  coat  of  a  policeman  chances  to 
approach,  how  quickly  they  strive  to  look  completely  indif 
ferent,  as  to  the  surrounding  universe  ;  how  they  saunter 
off,  as  if  lazily  wending  their  way  to  an  affectionate  wife 
and  family. 

The  first  time  one  of  these  mysterious  personages  accosted 
me,  I  fancied  him  crazy,  and  hurried  forward  to  avoid  him. 
But  arm  in  arm  with  my  shadow,  he  followed  after  ;  till 
amazed  at  his  conduct,  I  turned  round  and  paused. 

He  was  a  little,  shabby,  old  man,  with  a  forlorn  looking 
coat  and  hat ;  and  his  hand  was  fumbling  in  his  vest  pocket, 
as  if  to  take  out  a  card  with  his  address.  Seeing  me  stand 
still,  he  made  a  sign  toward  a  dark  angle  of  the  wall,  near 
which  we  were  ;  when  taking  him  for  a  cunning  foot-pad,  I 
again  wheeled  about,  and  swiftly  passed  on.  But  though  I 
did  not  look  round,  I  felt  him  following  me  still ;  so  once 
more  I  stopped.  The  fellow  now  assumed  so  mystic  and 
admonitory  an  air,  that  I  began  to  fancy  he  came  to  me  on 
some  warning  errand  ;  that  perhaps  a  plot  had  been  laid  to 
blow  up  the  Liverpool  docks,  and  he  -was  some  Monteagle 
bent  upon  accomplishing  my  flight.  I  was  determined  to 
see  what  he  was.  With  all  my  eyes  about  me,  I  followed 
him  into  the  arch  of  a  warehouse;  when  he  gazed  round 
furtively,  and  silently  showing  me  a  ring,  whispered,  "  You 
may  have  it  for  a  shilling ;  it's  pure  gold — I  found  it  in  the 
gutter — hush  !  don't  speak !  give  me  the  money,  and  it's 
yours." 

"  My  friend,"  said  I,  "  I  don't  trade  in  these  articles  ;  I 
don't  want  your  ring." 

"  Don't  you  ?  Then  take  that,"  he  whispered,  in  an 
intense  hushed  passion  ;  and  I  fell  flat  from  a  blow  on  the 
chest,  while  this  infamous  jeweler  made  away  with  himself 
out  of  sight.  This  business  transaction  was  conducted  with 
a  counting-house  promptitude  that  astonished  me. 

After  that,  I  shunned  these  scoundrels  like  the  leprosy  : 
and  the  next  time  I  was  pertinaciously  followed,  I  stopped,  and 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  217 


in  a  loud  voice,  pointed  out  the  man  to  the  passers  by ;  upon 
which  he  absconded  ;  rapidly  turning  up  into  sight  a  pair  of 
obliquely  worn  and  battered  boot-heels.  I  could  not  help 
thinking  that  these  sort  of  fellows,  so  given  to  running  away 
upon  emergencies,  must  furnish  a  good  deal  of  work  to  the 
shoemakers  ;  as  they  might,  also,  to  the  growers  of  hemp 
and  gallows-joiners. 

Belonging  to  a  somewhat  similar  fraternity  with  these 
irritable  merchants  of  brass  jewelry  just  mentioned,  are  the 
peddlers  of  Sheffield  razors,  mostly  boys,  who  are  hourly- 
driven  out  of  the  dock  gates  by  the  police  ;  nevertheless, 
they  contrive  to  saunter  back,  and  board  the  vessels,  going 
among  the  sailors  and  privately  exhibiting  their  wares. 
Incited  by  the  extreme  cheapness  of  one  of  the  razors,  and 
the  gilding  on  the  case  containing  it,  a  shipmate  of  mine 
purchased  it  on  the  spot  for  a  commercial  equivalent  of  the 
price,  in  tobacco.  On  the  following  Sunday,  he  used  that 
razor  ;  and  the  result  was  a  pair  of  tormented  and  toma 
hawked  cheeks,  that  almost  required  a  surgeon  to  dress 
them.  In  old  times,  by  the  way,  it  was  not  a  bad  thought, 
that  suggested  the  propriety  of  a  barber's  practicing  surgery 
in  connection  with  the  chin-harrowing  vocation. 

Another  class  of  knaves,  who  practice  upon  the  sailors  in 
Liverpool,  are  the  pawnbrokers,  inhabiting  little  rookeries 
among  the  narrow  lanes  adjoining  the  dock.  I  was  astonished 
at  the  multitude  of  gilded  balls  in  these  streets,  emblematic 
of  their  calling.  They  were  generally  next  neighbors  to  the 
gilded  grapes  over  the  spirit-vaults  ;  and  no  doubt,  mutually 
to  facilitate  business  operations,  some  of  these  establishments 
have  connecting  doors  inside,  so  as  to  play  their  customers 
into  each  other's  hands.  I  often  saw  sailors  in  a  state  of 
intoxication  rushing  from  a  spirit- vault  into  a  pawnbroker's ; 
stripping  off  their  boots,  hats,  jackets,  and  neckerchiefs,  and 
sometimes  even  their  pantaloons  on  the  spot,  and  offering  to 
pawn  them  for  a  song.  Of  course  such  applications  were 
never  refused. 


248  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


But  though  on  shore,  at  Liverpool,  poor  Jack  finds  more 
sharks  than  at  sea,  he  himself  is  by  no  means  exempt  from 
practices,  that  do  not  savor  of  a  rigid  morality;  at  least 
according  to  law.  In  tobacco  smuggling  he  is  an  adept : 
and  when  cool  and  collected,  often  manages  to  evade  the 
Customs  completely,  and  land  goodly  packages  of  the  weed, 
which  owing  to  the  immense  duties  upon  it  in  England, 
commands  a  very  high  price. 

As  soon  as  we  came  to  anchor  in  the  river,  before  reaching 
the  dock,  three  Custom-house  underlings  boarded  us,  and 
coming  down  into  the  forecastle,  ordered  the  men  to  produce 
all  the  tobacco  they  had.  Accordingly  several  pounds  were 
brought  forth. 

"  Is  that  all  ?"  asked  the  officers. 

"  All,"  said  the  men. 

«  We  will  see,"  returned  the  others. 

And  without  more  ado,  they  emptied  the  chests  right  and 
left ;  tossed  over  the  bunks  and  made  a  thorough  search  of 
the  premises  ;  but  discovered  nothing.  The  sailors  were 
then  given  to  understand,  that  while  the  ship  lay  in  dock, 
the  tobacco  must  remain  in  the  cabin,  under  custody  of  the 
chief  mate,  who  every  morning  would  dole  out  to  them 
one  plug  per  head,  as  a  security  against  their  carrying 
it  ashore. 

"  Very  good,"  said  the  men. 

But  several  of  them  had  secret  places  in  the  ship,  from 
whence  they  daily  drew  pound  after  pound  of  tobacco, 
which  they  smuggled  ashore  in  the  manner  following. 

When  the  crew  went  to  meals,  each  man  carried  at  least 
one  plug  in  his  pocket ;  that  he  had  a  right  to  ;  and  as 
many  more  were  hidden  about  his  person  as  he  dared. 
Among  the  great  crowds  pouring  out  of  the  dock-gates  at 
such  hours,  of  course  these  smugglers  stood  little  chance  of 
detection  ;  although  vigilant  looking  policemen  were  always 
standing  by.  And  though  these  "  Charlies"  might  suppose 
there  were  tobacco  smugglers  passing ;  yet  to  hit  the  right 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  249 

man  among  such  a  throng,  would  be  as  hard,  as  to  harpoon 
a  speckled  porpoise,  one  of  ten  thousand  darting  under  a 
ship's  bows. 

Our  forecastle  was  often  visited  by  foreign  sailors,  who 
knowing  we  came  from  America,  were  anxious  to  purchase 
tobacco  at  a  cheap  rate  ;  for  in  Liverpool  it  is  about  an 
American  penny  per  pipe-full.  Along  the  docks  they  sell  an 
English  pennyworth,  put  up  in  a  little  roll  like  confectioners' 
mottoes,  with  poetical  lines,  or  instructive  little  moral  pre 
cepts  printed  in  red  on  the  back. 

Among  all  the  sights  of  the  docks,  the  noble  truck-horses 
are  not  the  least  striking  to  a  stranger.  They  are  large  and 
powerful  brutes,  with  such  sleek  and  glossy  coats,  that  tjiey 
look  as  if  brushed  and  put  on  by  a  valet  every  morning. 
They  march  with  a  slow  and  stately  step,  lifting  their  pon 
derous  hoofs  like  royal  Siam  elephants.  Thou  shalt  not  lay 
stripes  upon  these  Roman  citizens  ;  for  their  docility  is  such, 
they  are  guided  without  rein  or  lash  ;  they  go  or  come,  halt 
or  march  on,  at  a  whisper.  So  grave,  dignified,  gentle 
manly,  and  courteous  did  these  fine  truck-horses  look — so 
full  of  calm  intelligence  and  sagacity,  that  often  I  endeavored 
to  get  into  conversation  with  them,  as  they  stood  in  contem 
plative  attitudes  while  their  loads  were  preparing.  But  all 
I  could  get  from  them  was  the  mere  recognition  of  a  friendly 
neigh ;  though  I  would  stake  much  upon  it  that,  could  I 
have  spoken  in  their  language,  I  would  have  derived  from 
them  a  good  deal  of  valuable  information  touching  the  docks, 
where  they  passed  the  whole  of  their  dignified  lives. 

There  are  unknown  worlds  of  knowledge  in  brutes  ;  and 
whenever  you  mark  a  horse,  or  a  dog,  with  a  peculiarly 
mild,  calm,  deep-seated  eye,  be  sure  he  is  an  Aristotle  or  a 
Kant,  tranquilly  speculating  upon  the  mysteries  in  man.  No 
philosophers  so  thoroughly  comprehend  us  as  dogs  and  horses. 
They  see  through  us  at  a  glance.  And  after  all,  what  is  a 
horse,  but  a  species  of  four-footed  dumb  man,  in  a  leathern 
overall,  who  happens  to  live  upon  oats,  and  toils  for  his  mas- 

L* 


250  RED  BURN: 


ters,  half-requited  or  abused,  like  the  biped  hewers  of  wood 
and  drawers  of  water  ?  But  there  is  a  touch  of  divinity 
even  in  brutes,  and  a  special  halo  about  a  horse,  that  should 
forever  exempt  him  from  indignities.  As  for  those  majestic, 
magisterial  truck-horses  of  the  docks,  I  would  as  soon  think 
of  striking  a  judge  on  the  bench,  as  to  lay  violent  hand 
upon  their  holy  hides. 

It  is  wonderful  what  loads  their  majesties  will  condescend 
to  draw.  The  truck  is  a  large  square  platform,  on  four  low 
wheels  ;  and  upon  this  the  lumpers  pile  bale  after  bale  of 
cotton,  as  if  they  were  filling  a  large  warehouse,  and  yet  a 
procession  of  three  of  these  horses  will  tranquilly  walk  away 
with  the  whole. 

The  truckmen  themselves  are  almost  as  singular  a  race 
as  their  animals.  Like  the  Judiciary  in  England,  they  wear 
gowns, — not  of  the  same  cut  and  color  though, — which  reach 
below  their  knees  ;  and  from  the  racket  they  make  on  the 
pavements  with  their  hob-nailed  brogans,  you  would  think 
they  patronized  the  same  shoemaker  with  their  horses.  I 
never  could  get  any  thing  out  of  these  truckmen .  They  are 
a  reserved,  sober-sided  set,  who,  with  all  possible  solemnity, 
march  at  the  head  of  their  animals  ;  now  and  then  gently 
advising  them  to  sheer  to  the  right  or  the  left,  in  order  to 
avoid  some  passing  vehicle.  Then  spending  so  much  of  their 
lives  in  the  high-bred  company  of  their  horses,  seems  to  have 
mended  their  manners  and  improved  their  taste,  besides  im 
parting  to  them  something  of  the  dignity  of  their  animals  ; 
but  it  has  also  given  to  them  a  sort  of  refined  and  uncom 
plaining  aversion  to  human  society. 

There  are  many  strange  stories  told  of  the  truck-horse. 
Among  others  is  the  following  :  There  was  a  parrot,  that 
from  having  long  been  suspended  in  its  cage  from  a  low 
window  fronting  a  dock,  had  learned  to  converse  pretty  flu 
ently  in  the  language  of  the  stevedores  and  truckmen.  One 
day  a  truckman  left  his  vehicle  standing  on  the  quay,  with 
its  back  to  the  water.  It  was  noon,  when  an  interval  of 


HIS    FIRST    VO-Y  AGE.  251 


silence  falls  upon  the  docks  ;  and  Poll,  seeing  herself  face  to 
face  with  the  horse,  and  having  a  mind  for  a  chat,  cried  out 
to  him,  "  Back  !  back  !  back  /" 

Backward  went  the  horse,  precipitating  himself  and  truck 
into  the  water. 

Brunswick  Dock,  to  the  west  of  Prince's,  is  one  of  the 
most  interesting  to  be  seen.  Here  lie  the  various  black 
steamers  (so  unlike  the  American  boats,  since  they  have  to 
navigate  the  boisterous  Narrow  Seas)  plying  to  all  parts  of 
the  three  kingdoms.  Here  you  see  vast  quantities  of  pro 
duce,  imported  from  starving  Ireland  ;  here  you  see  the  decks 
turned  into  pens  for  oxen  and  sheep  ;  and  often,  side  by  side 
with  these  inclosures,  Irish  deck-passengers,  thick  as  they 
can  stand,  seemingly  penned  in  just  like  the  cattle.  It  was 
the  beginning  of  July  when  the  Highlander  arrived  in  port ; 
and  the  Irish  laborers  were  daily  coming  over  by  thousands, 
to  help  harvest  the  English  crops. 

One  morning,  going  into  the  town,  I  heard  a  tramp,  as 
of  a  drove  of  buffaloes,  behind  me  ;  and  turning  round,  beheld 
the  entire  middle  of  the  street  filled  by  a  great  crowd  of  these 
men,  who  had  just  emerged  from  Brunswick  Dock  gates,  ar 
rayed  in  long-tailed  coats  of  hodd in-gray,  corduroy  knee- 
breeches,  and  shod  with  shoes  that  raised  a  mighty  dust. 
Flourishing  their  Donnybrook  shillelahs,  they  looked  like  an 
irruption  of  barbarians.  They  were  marching  straight  out 
of  town  into  the  country ;  and  perhaps  out  of  consideration 
for  the  finances  of  the  corporation,  took  the  middle  of  the 
street,  to  save  the  side-walks. 

"  Sing  Langolee,  and  the  Lakes  of  Killarney"  cried 
one  fellow,  tossing  his  stick  into  the  air,  as  he  danced  in  his 
brogans  at  the  head  of  the  rabble.  And  so  they  went ! 
capering  on,  merry  as  pipers. 

When  I  thought  of  the  multitudes  of  Irish  that  annually 
land  on  the  shores  of  the  United  States  and  Canada,  and,  to 
my  surprise,  witnessed  the  additional  multitudes  embarking 
from  Liverpool  to  New  Holland  ;  and  when,  added  to  all 


252  REDBURN: 


this,  I  daily  saw  these  hordes  of  laborers,  descending,  thick 
as  locusts,  upon  the  English  corn-fields ;  I  could  riot  help 
marveling  at  the  fertility  of  an  island,  which,  though  her 
crop  of  potatoes  may  fail,  never  yet  failed  in  bringing  her 
annual  crop  of  men  into  the  world. 


CHAPTER  XLT. 

REDBURN   ROVES  ABOUT   HITHER   AND   THITHER. 

I  DO  not  know  that  any  other  traveler  would  think  it 
worth  while  to  mention  such  a  thing ;  but  the  fact  is,  that 
during  the  summer  months  in  Liverpool,  the  days  are  ex 
ceedingly  lengthy;  and  the  first  evening  I  found  myself 
walking  in  the  twilight  after  nine  o'clock,  I  tried  to  recall 
my  astronomical  knowledge,  in  order  to  account  satisfactorily 
for  so  curious  a  phenomenon.  But  the  days  in  summer, 
and  the  nights  in  winter,  are  just  as  long  in  Liverpool  as  at 
Cape  Horn;  for  the  latitude  of  the  two  places  very  nearly 
corresponds. 

These  Liverpool  days,  however,  were  a  famous  thing  for 
me ;  who,  thereby,  was  enabled  after  my  day's  work  aboard 
the  Highlander,  to  ramble  about  the  town  for  several  hours. 
After  I  had  visited  all  the  noted  places  I  could  discover,  of 
those  marked  down  upon  my  father's  map  ;  I  began  to  extend 
my  rovings  indefinitely ;  forming  myself  into  a  committee  of 
one,  to  investigate  all  accessible  parts  of  the  town ;  though 
so  many  years  have  elapsed,  ere  I  have  thought  of  bringing 
in  my  report. 

This  was  a  great  delight  to  me  :  for  wherever  I  have 
been  in  the  world,  I  have  always  taken  a  vast  deal  of  lonely 
satisfaction  in  wandering  about,  up  and  down,  among  out-of- 
the-way  streets  and  alleys,  and  speculating  upon  the  strangers 
I  have  met.  Thus,  in  Liverpool  I  used  to  pace  along  end 
less  streets  of  dwelling-houses,  looking  at  the  names  on  the 
doors,  admiring  the  pretty  faces  in  the  windows,  and  invoking 
a  passing  blessing  upon  the  chubby  children  on  the  door-steps. 
I  was  stared  at  myself,  to  be  sure  ,  but  what  of  that  ?  We 


254  REDBURN: 


must  give  and  take  on  such  occasions.  In  truth,  I  and  my 
shooting-jacket  produced  quite  a  sensation  in  Liverpool :  and 
I  have  no  doubt,  that  many  a  father  of  a  family  went  home 
to  his  children  with  a  curious  story,  about  a  wandering 
phenomenon  they  had  encountered,  traversing  the  side-walks 
that  day.  In  the  words  of  the  old  song,  "  /  cared  for 
nobody,  no  not  J,  and  nobody  cared  for  me"  I  stared  my 
fill  with  impunity,  and  took  all  stares  myself  in  good  part. 

Once  I  was  standing  in  a  large  square,  gaping  at  a 
splendid  chariot  drawn  up  at  a  portico.  The  glossy  horses 
quivered  with  good-living,  and  so  did  the  sumptuous  calves 
of  the  gold-laced  coachman  and  footmen  in  attendance.  I 
was  particularly  struck  with  the  red  cheeks  of  these  men: 
and  the  many  evidences  they  furnished  of  their  enjoying  this 
life  with  a  wonderful  relish. 

While  thus  standing,  I  all  at  once  perceived,  that  the 
objects  of  my  curiosity,  were  making  me  an  object  of  their 
own  ;  and  that  they  were  gazing  at  me,  as  if  I  were  some 
unauthorized  intruder  upon  the  British  soil.  Truly,  they 
had  reason  :  for  when  I  now  think  of  the  figure  I  must  have 
cut  in  those  days,  I  only  marvel  that,  in  my  many  strolls, 
my  passport  was  not  a  thousand  times  demanded. 

Nevertheless,  I  was  only  a  forlorn  looking  mortal  among 
tens  of  thousands  of  rags  and  tatters.  For  in  some  parts  of 
the  town,  inhabited  by  laborers,  and  poor  people  generally  ; 
I  used  to  crowd  my  way  through  masses  of  squalid  men, 
women,  and  children,  who  at  this  evening  hour,  in  those 
quarters  of  Liverpool,  seem  to  empty  themselves  into  the 
street,  and  live  there  for  the  time.  I  had  never  seen  any 
thing  like  it  in  New  York. 

Often,  I  witnessed  some  curious,  and  many  very  sad 
scenes  ;  and  especially  I  remembered  encountering  a  pale, 
ragged  man,  rushing  along  frantically,  and  striving  to  throw 
off  his  wife  and  children,  who  clung  to  his  arms  and  legs  ; 
and,  in  God's  name,  conjured  him  not  to  desert  them.  He 
seemed  bent  upon  rushing  down  to  the  water,  and  drowning 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  255 

himself,  in  some  despair,  and  craziness  of  wretchedness.  In 
these  haunts,  beggary  went  on  before  me  wherever  I  walked, 
and  dogged  me  unceasingly  at  the  heels.  Poverty,  poverty, 
poverty,  in  almost  endless  vistas  :  and  want  and  woe  stag 
gered  arm  in  arm  along  these  miserable  streets. 

And  here,  I  must  not  omit  one  thing,  that  struck  me  at  the 
time.  It  was  the  absence  of  negroes ;  who  in  the  large  towns 
in  the  "free  states"  of  America,  almost  always  form  a  con 
siderable  portion  of  the  destitute.  But  in  these  streets,  not  a 
negro  was  to  be  seen.  All  were  whites ;  and  with  the  excep 
tion  of  the  Irish,  were  natives  of  the  soil :  even  Englishmen ; 
as  much  Englishmen,  as  the  dukes  in  the  House  of  Lords. 
This  conveyed  a  strange  feeling  :  and  more  than  any  thing 
else,  reminded  me  that  I  was  not  in  my  own  land.  For 
there,  such  a  being  as  a  native  beggar  is  almost  unknown ; 
and  to  be  a  born  American  citizen  seems  a  guarantee 
against  pauperism ;  and  this,  perhaps,  springs  from  the 
virtue  of  a  vote. 

Speaking  of  negroes,  recalls  the  looks  of  interest  with 
which  negro-sailors  are  regarded  when  they  walk  the  Liver 
pool  streets.  In  Liverpool  indeed  the  negro  steps  with  a 
prouder  pace,  and  lifts  his  head  like  a  man ;  for  here,  no 
such  exaggerated  feeling  exists  in  respect  to  him,  as  in 
America.  Three  or  four  times,  I  encountered  our  black 
steward,  dressed  very  handsomely,  and  walking  arm  in  arm 
with  a  good-looking  English  woman.  In  New  York,  such 
a  couple  would  have  been  mobbed  in  three  minutes  ;  and 
the  steward  would  have  been  lucky  to  escape  with  whole 
limbs.  Owing  to  the  friendly  reception  extended  to  them, 
and  the  unwonted  immunities  they  enjoy  in  Liverpool,  the 
black  cooks  and  stewards  of  American  ships  are  very  much 
attached  to  the  place  and  like  to  make  voyages  to  it. 

Being  so  young  and  inexperienced  then,  and  unconsciously 
swayed  in  some  degree  by  those  local  and  social  prejudices, 
that  are  the  marring  of  most  men,  and  from  which,  for  the 
mass,  there  seems  no  possible  escape  ;  at  first  I  was  surprised 


256  RED  BURN: 


that  a  colored  man  should  be  treated  as  he  is  in  this  town ; 
but  a  little  reflection  showed  that,  after  all,  it  was  but 
recognizing  his  claims  to  humanity  and  normal  equality  ;  so 
that,  in  some  things,  we  Americans  leave  to  other  countries 
the  carrying  out  of  the  principle  that  stands  at  the  head  of 
our  Declaration  of  Independence. 

During  my  evening  strolls  in  the  wealthier  quarters,  I 
was  subject  to  a  continual  mortification.  It  was  the  humil 
iating  fact,  wholly  unforeseen  by  me,  that  upon  the  whole, 
and  barring  the  poverty  and  beggary,  Liverpool,  away  from 
the  docks,  was  very  much  such  a  place  as  New  York. 
There  were  the  same  sort  of  streets  pretty  much  ;  the  same 
rows  of  houses  with  stone  steps  ;  the  same  kind  of  sidewalks 
and  curbs  ;  and  the  same  elbowing,  heartless-looking  crowd 
as  ever. 

I  came  across  the  Leeds  Canal,  one  afternoon;  but,  upon 
my  word,  no  one  could  have  told  it  from  the  Erie  Canal  at 
Albany.  I  went  into  St.  John's  Market  on  a  Saturday 
night ;  and  though  it  was  strange  enough  to  see  that  great 
roof  supported  by  so  many  pillars,  yet  the  most  discriminat 
ing  observer  would  not  have  been  able  to  detect  any  differ 
ence  between  the  articles  exposed  for  sale,  and  the  articles 
exhibited  in  Fulton  Market,  New  York. 

I  walked  down  Lord-street,  peering  into  the  jewelers' 
shops  ;  but  I  thought  I  was  walking  down  a  block  in  Broad 
way.  I  began  to  think  that  all  this  talk  about  travel  was 
a  humbug ;  and  that  he  who  lives  in  a  nut-shell,  lives  in  an 
epitome  of  the  universe,  and  has  but  little  to  see  beyond 
him. 

It  is  true,  that  I  often  thought  of  London's  being  only 
seven  or  eight  hours'  travel  by  railroad  from  where  I  was  ; 
and  that  there,  surely,  must  be  a  world  of  wonders  waiting 
my  eyes  :  but  more  of  London  anon. 

Sundays  were  the  days  upon  which  I  made  my  longest 
explorations.  I  rose  bright  and  early,  with  my  whole  plan 
of  operations  in  my  head.  First  walking  into  some  dock 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  257 

hitherto  unexamined,  and  then  to  breakfast.  Then  a  walk 
through  the  more  fashionable  streets,  to  see  the  people  going 
to  church  ;  and  then  I  myself  went  to  church,  selecting  the 
goodliest  edifice,  and  the  tallest  Kentuckian  of  a  spire  I 
could  find. 

For  I  am  an  admirer  of  church  architecture ;  and  though, 
perhaps,  the  sums  spent  in  erecting  magnificent  cathedrals 
might  better  go  to  the  founding  of  charities,  yet  since  these 
structures  are  built,  those  who  disapprove  of  them  in  one 
sense,  may  as  well  have  the  benefit  of  them  in  another. 

It  is  a  most  Christian  thing,  and  a  matter  most  sweet  to 
dwell  upon  and  simmer  over  in  solitude,  that  any  poor  sin 
ner  may  go  to  church  wherever  he  pleases*;  and  that  even 
St.  Peter's  in  Rome  is  open  to  him,  as  to  a  cardinal ;  that 
St.  Paul's  in  London  is  not  shut  against  him  ;  and  that  the 
Broadway  Tabernacle,  in  New  York,  opens  all  her  broad 
aisles  to  him,  and  will  not  even  have  doors  and  thresholds 
to  her  pews,  the  better  to  allure  him  by  an  unbounded  in 
vitation.  I  say,  this  consideration  of  the  hospitality  and 
democracy  in  churches,  is  a  most  Christian  and  charming 
thought.  It  speaks  whole  volumes  of  folios,  and  Vatican 
libraries,  for  Christianity ;  it  is  more  eloquent,  and  goes  far 
ther  home  than  all  the  sermons  of  Massillon,  Jeremy  Tay 
lor,  Wesley,  and  Archbishop  Tillotson. 

Nothing  daunted,  therefore,  by  thinking  of  my  being  a 
stranger  in  the  land  ;  nothing  daunted  by  the  architectural 
superiority  and  costliness  of  any  Liverpool  church  ;  or  by  the 
streams  of  silk  dresses  and  fine  broadcloth  coats  flowing  into 
the  aisles ;  I  used  humbly  to  present  myself  before  the  sex 
ton,  as  a  candidate  for  admission.  He  would  stare  a  little, 
perhaps  (one  of  them  once  hesitated),  b*t  in  the  end,  what 
could  he  do  but  show  me  into  a  pew ;  not  the  most  commo 
dious  of  pews,  to  be  sure  ;  nor  commandingly  located  ;  nor 
within  very  plain  sight  or  hearing  of  the  pulpit.  No  ;  it 
was  remarkable,  that  there  was  always  some  confounded 
pillar  or  obstinate  angle  of  the  wall  in  the  way  ;  and  I  used 


258  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


to  think,  that  the  sextons  of  Liverpool  must  have  held  a 
secret  meeting  on  my  account,  and  resolved  to  apportion  me 
the  most  inconvenient  pew  in  the  churches  under  their 
charge.  However,  they  always  gave  me  a  seat  of  some 
sort  or  other  ;  sometimes  even  on  ah  oaken  bench  in  the 
open  air  of  the  aisle,  where  I  would  sit,  dividing  the  at 
tention  of  the  congregation  between  myself  and  the  clergy 
man.  The  whole  congregation  seemed  to  know  that  I  was 
a  foreigner  of  distinction . 

It  was  sweet  to  hear  the  service  read,  the  organ  roll,  the 
sermon  preached — just  as  the  same  things  were  going  on 
three  thousand  five  hundred  miles  off,  at  home  !  But  then, 
the  prayer  in  behalf  of  her  majesty  the  Queen,  somewhat 
threw  me  aback.  Nevertheless,  I  joined  in  that  prayer,  and 
invoked  for  the  lady  the  best  wishes  of  a  poor  Yankee. 

How  I  loved  to  sit  in  the  holy  hush  of  those  brown  old 
monastic  aisles,  thinking  of  Harry  the  Eighth,  and  the 
Reformation  !  How  I  loved  to  go  a  roving  with  my  eye, 
all  along  the  sculptured  walls  and  buttresses ;  winding  in 
among  the  intricacies  of  the  pendent  ceiling,  and  wriggling 
my  fancied  way  like  a  wood-worm.  I  could  have  sat  there 
all  the  morning  long,  through  noon,  unto  night.  But  at 
last  the  benediction  would  come  ;  and  appropriating  my  share 
of  it,  I  would  slowly  move  away,  thinking  how  I  should  like 
to  go  home  with  some  of  the  portly  old  gentlemen,  with 
high-polished  boots  arid  Malacca  canes,  and  take  a  seat  at 
their  cosy  and  comfortable  dinner-tables.  But,  alas !  there  was 
no  dinner  for  me  except  at  the  sign  of  the  Baltimore  Clipper. 

Yet  the  Sunday  dinners  that  Handsome  Mary  served  up 
were  not  to  be  scorned.  The  roast  beef  of  Old  England 
abounded  ;  and  so  did  the  immortal  plum-puddings,  and  the 
unspeakably  capital  gooseberry  pies.  But  to  finish  off  with 
that  abominable  "swipes"  almost  spoiled  all  the  rest:  not 
that  I  myself  patronized  "  swipes,"  but  my  shipmates  did  ; 
and  every  cup  I  saw  them  drink,  I  could  not  choose  but 
taste  in  imagination,  and  even  then  the  flavor  was  bad. 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  259 

On  Sundays,  at  dinner-time,  as,  indeed,  on  every  other 
day,  it  was  curious  to  watch  the  proceedings  at  the  sign  of 
the  Clipper.  The  servant  girls  were  running  about,  muster 
ing  the  various  crews,  whose  dinners  were  spread,  each  in  a 
separate,  apartment ;  and  who  were  collectively  known  by 
the  names  of  their  ships. 

"  Where  are  the  Arethusas  ? — Here's  their  beef  been 
smoking  this  half-hour." — "  Fly,  Betty,  my  dear,  here  come 
the  Splendids"  — « Run,  Molly,  my  love;  get  the  salt 
cellars  for  the  Highlanders" — "You  Peggy,  where's  the 
Siddons'  pickle-pot?" — "I  say,  Judy,  are  you  n^ver  coming 
with  that  pudding  for  the  Lord  Nelsons?" 

On  week  days,  we  did  not  fare  quite  so  well  as  on  Sundays ; 
and  once  we  came  to  dinner,  and  found  two  enormous  bullock 
hearts  smoking  at  each  end  of  the  Highlanders'  table.  Jack 
son  was  indignant  at  the  outrage. 

He  always  sat  at  the  head  of  the  table  ;  and  this  time 
he  squared  himself  on  his  bench,  and  erecting  his  knife  and 
fork  like  flag-staffs,  so  as  to  include  the  two  hearts  between 
them,  he  called  out  for  Danby,  the  boarding-house  keeper  ; 
for  although  his  wife  Mary  was  in  fact  at  the  head  of  the 
establishment,  yet  Danby  himself  always  came  in  for  the 
fault-findings. 

Danby  obsequiously  appeared,  and  stood  in  the  door- way, 
well  knowing  the  philippics  that  were  coming.  But  he  was 
not  prepared  for  the  peroration  of  Jackson's  address  to  him  ; 
which  consisted  of  the  two  bullock  hearts,  snatched  bodily 
off  the  dish,  and  flung  at  his  head,  by  way  of  a  recapitula 
tion  of  the  preceding  arguments.  The  company  then  broke 
up  in  disgust,  and  dined  elsewhere. 

Though  I  almost  invariably  attended  church  on  Sunday 
mornings,  yet  the  rest  of  the  day  I  spent  on  my  travels ; 
and  it  was  on  one  of  these  afternoon  strolls,  that  on  passing 
through  St.  George's-square,  I  found  myself  among  a  large 
crowd,  gathered  near  the  base  of  George  the  Fourth's  eques 
trian  statue. 


260  REDBURN: 


The  people  were  mostly  mechanics'  and  artisans  in  their 
holiday  clothes  ;  but  mixed  with  them  were  a  good  many 
soldiers,  in  lean,  lank,  and  dinnerless  undresses,  and  sporting 
attenuated  rattans.  These  troops  belonged  to  the  various 
regiments  then  in  town.  Police  officers,  also,  were  con 
spicuous  in  their  uniforms.  At  first  perfect  silence  and  de 
corum  prevailed. 

Addressing  this  orderly  throng  was  a  pale,  hollow-eyed 
young  man,  in  a  snuff-colored  surtout,  who  looked  worn 
with  much  watching,  or  much  toil,  or  too  little  food.  His 
features  were  good,  his  whole  air  was  respectable,  and  there 
was  no  mistaking  the  fact,  that  he  was  strongly  in  earnest 
in  what  he  was  saying. 

In  his  hand  was  a  soiled,  inflammatory-looking  pamphlet, 
from  which  he  frequently  read  ;  following  up  the  quotations 
with  nervous  appeals  to  his  hearers,  a  rolling  of  his  eyes, 
and  sometimes  the  most  frantic  gestures.  I  was  not  long 
within  hearing  of  him,  before  I  became  aware  that  this 
youth  was  a  Chartist. 

Presently  the  crowd  increased,  and  some  commotion  was 
raised,  when  I  noticed  the  police  officers  augmenting  in 
number  ;  and  by  and  by,  they  began  to  glide  through  the 
crowd,  politely  hinting  at  the  propriety  of  dispersing.  The 
first  persons  thus  accosted  were  the  soldiers,  who  accordingly 
sauntered  ofF,  switching  their  rattans,  and  admiring  their 
high-polished  shoes.  It  was  plain  that  the  Charter  did  not 
hang  very  heavy  round  their  hearts.  For  the  rest,  they  also 
gradually  broke  up ;  and  at  last  I  saw  the  speaker  himself 
depart. 

I  do  not  know  why,  but  I  thought  he  must  be  some 
despairing  elder  son,  supporting  by  hard  toil  his  mother  and 
sisters  ;  for  of  such  many  political  desperadoes  are  made. 

That  same  Sunday  afternoon,  I  strolled  toward  the  out 
skirts  of  the  town,  and  attracted  by  the  sight  of  two  great 
Pompey's  pillars,  in  the  shape  of  black  steeples,  apparently 
rising  directly  from  the  soil,  I  approached  them  with  much 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  261 

curiosity.  But  looking  over  a  low  parapet  connecting 
them,  what  was  my  surprise  to  behold  at  rny  feet  a  smoky 
hollow  in  the  ground,  with  rocky  walls,  and  dark  holes  at 
one  end,  carrying  out  of  view  several  lines  of  iron  railways  ; 
while  far  beyond,  straight  out  toward  the  open  country,  ran 
an  endless  railroad.  Over  the  place,  a  handsome  Moorish 
arch  of  stone  was  flung  ;  and  gradually,  as  I  gazed  upon 
it,  and  at  the  little  side  arches  at  the  bottom  of  the  hollow, 
there  came  over  me  an  undefinable  feeling,  that  I  had 
previously  seen  the  whole  thing  before.  Yet  how  could 
that  be  ?  Certainly,  I  had  never  been  in  Liverpool  before : 
but  then,  that  Moorish  arch !  surely  I  remembered  that  very 
well.  It  was  not  till  several  months  after  reaching  home 
in  America,  that  my  perplexity  upon  this  matter  was  cleared 
away.  In  glancing  over  an  old  number  of  the  Penny  Maga 
zine,  there  I  saw  a  picture  of  the  place  to  the  life  ;  and 
remembered  having  seen  the  same  print  years  previous.  It 
was  a  representation  of  the  spot  where  the  Manchester  rail 
road  enters  the  outskirts  of  the  town. 


CHAPTER  XLII. 

HIS  ADVENTURE  WITH  THE  CROSS  OLD  GENTLEMAN. 

MY  adventure  in  the  News-Room  in  the  Exchange,  which 
T  have  related  in  a  previous  chapter,  reminds  me  of  another, 
at  the  Lyceum,  some  days  after,  which  may  as  well  be  put 
down  here,  before  I  forget  it. 

I  was  strolling  down  Bold-street,  I  think  it  was,  when  I 
was  struck  by  the  sight  of  a  brown  stone  building,  very  large 
and  handsome.  The  windows  were  open,  and  there,  nicely 
seated,  with  their  comfortable  legs  crossed  over  their  com 
fortable  knees,  I  beheld  several  sedate,  happy-looking  old 
gentlemen  reading  the  magazines  and  papers,  and  one  had 
a  fine  gilded  volume  in  his  hand. 

Yes,  this  must  be  the  Lyceum,  thought  I ;  let  me  see. 
So  I  whipped  out  my  guide-book,  and  opened  it  at  the  proper 
plate ;  and  sure  enough,  the  building  before  me  corresponded 
stone  for  stone.  I  stood  awhile  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
street,  gazing  at  my  picture,  and  then  at  its  original ;  and 
often  dwelling  upon  the  pleasant  gentlemen  sitting  at  the 
open  windows  ;  till  at  last,  I  felt  an  uncontrollable  impulse 
to  step  in  for  a  moment,  and  run  over  the  news. 

I'm  a  poor,  friendless  sailor-boy,  thought  I,  and  they  can 
not  object ;  especially  as  I  am  from  a  foreign  land,  and 
strangers  ought  to  be  treated  with  courtesy.  I  turned  the 
matter  over  again,  as  I  walked  across  the  way ;  and  with 
just  a  small  tapping  of  a  misgiving  at  my  heart,  I  at  last 
scraped  my  feet  clean  against  the  curb-stone,  and  taking  off 
my  hat  while  I  was  yet  in  the  open  air,  slowly  sauntered  in. 

But  I  had  not  got  far  into  that  large  and  lofty  room, 
filled  with  many  agreeable  sights,  when  a  crabbed  old  gen- 


HIS   FIRST   VOYAGE.  263 

tlernen  lifted  up  his  eye  from  the  London  Times,  which 
words  I  saw  boldly  printed  on  the  back  of  the  large  sheet  in 
his  hand,  and  looking  at  me  as  if  I  were  a  strange  dog  with 
a  muddy  hide,  that  had  stolen  out  of  the  gutter  into  this 
fine  apartment,  he  shook  his  silver-headed  cane  at  me  fiercely, 
till  the  spectacles  fell  off  his  nose.  Almost  at  the  same  mo 
ment,  up  stepped  a  terribly  cross  man,  who  looked  as  if  he 
had  a  mustard  plaster  on  his  back,  that  was  continually 
exasperating  him  ;  who  throwing  down  some  papers  which 
he  had  been  filing,  took  me  by  my  innocent  shoulders,  and 
then,  putting  his  foot  against  the  broad  part  of  my  panta 
loons,  wheeled  me  right  out  into  the  street,  and  dropped  me 
on  the  walkr  without  so  much  as  offering  an  apology  for  the 
affront.  I  sprang  after  him,  but  in  vain  ;  the  door  was 
closed  upon  me. 

These  Englishmen  have  no  manners,  that's  plain,  thought 
I ;  and  I  trudged  on  down  the  street  in  a  reverie. 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

HE    TAKES   A    DELIGHTFUL   RAMBLE    INTO    THE    COUNTRY  J    AND 
MAKES  THE  ACQUAINTANCE  OF  THREE  ADORABLE  CHARMERS. 

WHO  that  dwells  in  America  has  not  heard  of  the  bright 
fields  and  green  hedges  of  England,  and  longed  to  behold 
them  ?  Even  so  had  it  been  with  me  ;  and  now  that  I  was 
actually  in  England,  I  resolved  not  to  go  away  without  hav 
ing  a  good,  long  look  at  the  open  fields. 

On  a  Sunday  morning  I  started,  with  a  lunch  in  my 
pocket.  It  was  a  beautiful  day  in  July ;  the  air  was  sweet 
with  the  breath  of  buds  and  flowers,  and  there  was  a  green 
splendor  in  the  landscape  that  ravished  me.  Soon  I  gained 
an  elevation  commanding  a  wide  sweep  of  view  ;  and  mea 
dow  and  mead,  and  woodland  and  hedge,  were  all  around 
me. 

Ay,  ay  !  this  was  old  England,  indeed  !  I  had  found  it 
at  last — there  it  was  in  the  country  !  Hovering  over  the 
scene  was  a  soft,  dewy  air,  that  seemed  faintly  tinged  with 
the  green  of  the  grass  ;  and  I  thought,  as  I  breathed  my 
breath,  that  perhaps  I  might  be  inhaling  the  very  particles 
once  respired  by  Rosamond  the  Fair. 

On  I  trudged  along  the  London  road — smooth  as  an  entry 
floor — and  every  white  cottage  I  passed,  embosomed  in  honey 
suckles,  seemed  alive  in  the  landscape. 

But  the  day  wore  on ;  and  at  length  the  sun  grew  hot ; 
and  the  long  road  became  dusty.  I  thought  that  some 
shady  place,  in  some  shady  field,  would  be  very  pleasant  to 
repose  in.  So,  coming  to  a  charming  little  dale,  undulating 
down  to  a  hollow,  arched  over  with  foliage,  I  crossed  over 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  265 

toward  it  ;  but  paused  by  the  road-side  at  a  frightful  an 
nouncement,  nailed  against  an  old  tree,  used  as  a  gate-post  — 


MAN-TRAPS  AND  SPRING-GUNS  !" 

In  America  I  had  never  heard  of  the  like.  What  could 
it  mean  ?  They  were  not  surely  cannibals,  that  dwelt 
down  in  that  beautiful  little  dale,  and  lived  by  catching 
men,  like  weasels  and  beavers  in  Canada  ! 

"  A  man-trap  /"  It  must  be  so.  The  announcement 
could  bear  but  one  meaning  —  that  there  was  something  near 
by,  intended  to  catch  human  beings  ;  some  species  of  mechan 
ism,  that  would  suddenly  fasten  upon  the  unwary  rover,  and 
hold  him  by  the  leg  like  a  dog  ;  or,  perhaps,  devour  him  on 
the  spot. 

Incredible  !  In  a  Christian  land,  too  !  Did  that  sweet 
lady,  Queen  Victoria,  permit  such  diabolical  practices  ?  Had 
her  gracious  majesty  ever  passed  by  this  way,  and  seen  the 
announcement  ? 

And  who  put  it  there  ? 

The  proprietor,  probably. 

And  what  right  had  he  to  do  so  ? 

Why,  he  owned  the  soil. 

And  where  are  his  title-deeds  ? 

In  his  strong-box,  I  suppose. 

Thus  I  stood  wrapt  in  cogitations. 

You  are  a  pretty  fellow,  Wellingborough,  thought  I  to 
myself  ;  you  are  a  mighty  traveler^  indeed  :  —  stopped  on 
your  travels  by  a  man-trap!  Do  you  think  Mungo  Park 
was  so  served  in  Africa  ?  Do  you  think  Ledyard  was  so 
entreated  in  Siberia  ?  Upon  my  word,  you  will  go  home 
not  very  much  wiser  than  when  you  set  out  ;  and  the  only 
excuse  you  can  give,  for  not  having  seen  more  sights,  will  be 
man-traps  —  man-traps,  my  masters  !  that  frightened  you  ! 

And  then,  in  my  indignation,  I  fell  back  upon  first  prin 
ciples.  What  right  has  this  man  to  the  soil  he  .thus  guards 
with  dragons  ?  What  excessive  effrontery,  to  lay  sole  claim 

M 


266  RED  BURN: 


i 


to  a  solid  piece  of  this  planet,  right  down  to  the  earth's  axis, 
and,  perhaps,  straight  through  to  the  antipodes  !  For  a 
moment  I  thought  I  would  test  his  traps,  and  enter  the  for 
bidden  Eden.  But  the  grass  grew  so  thickly,  and  seemed 
so  full  of  sly  things,  that  at  last  I  thought  best  to  pace  off. 

Next,  I  came  to  a  hawthorn  lane,  leading  down  very 
prettily  to  a  nice  little  church  ;  a  mossy  little  church ;  a 
beautiful  little  church  ;  just  such  a  church  as  I  had  always 
dreamed  to  be  in  England.  The  porch  was  viny  as  an  ar 
bor  ;  the  ivy  was  climbing  about  the  tower ;  and  the  bees 
were  humming  about  the  hoary  old  head-stones  "along  the 
walls. 

Any  man-traps  here  ?  thought  I — any  spring-guns  ? 

No. 

So  I  walked  on,  and  entered  the  church,  where  I  soon 
found  a  seat.  No  Indian,  red  as  a  deer,  could  have  startled 
the  simple  people  more.  They  gazed  and  they  gazed  ;  but 
as  I  was  all  attention  to  the  sermon,  and  conducted  myself 
with  perfect  propriety,  they  did  not  expel  me,  as  at  first  I 
almost  imagined  they  might. 

Service  over,  I  made  my  way  through  crowds  of  children, 
who  stood  staring  at  the  marvelous  stranger,  and  resumed 
my  stroll  along  the  London  Road. 

My  next  stop  was  at  an  inn,  where  under  a  tree  sat  a 
party  of  rustics,  drinking  ale  at  a  table. 

"  Good  day,"  said  I. 

"  Good  day  ;  from  Liverpool  ?" 

"  I  guess  so." 

"  For  London  ?" 

"  No;  not  this  time.    I  merely  corne  to  see  the  country." 

At  this,  they  gazed  at  each  other ;  and  I,  at  myself ; 
having  doubts  whether  I  might  not  look  something  like  a 
horse-thief. 

"  Take  a  seat,"  said  the  landlord,  a  fat  fellow,  with  his 
wife's  apron  on,  I  thought. 

"  Thank  you." 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  267 

Arid  then,  little  by  little,  we  got  into  a  long  talk  :  in  the 
course  of  which,  I  told  who  I  was,  and  where  I  was  from. 
I  found  these  rustics  a  good-natured,  jolly  set :  and  I  have 
no  doubt  they  found  me  quite  a  sociable  youth.  They 
treated  me  to  ale  ;  and  I  treated  them  to  stories  about 
America,  concerning  which,  they  manifested  the  utmost 
curiosity.  One  of  them,  however,  was  somewhat  astonished 
that  I  had  not  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  brother  of  his, 
who  had  resided  somewhere  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi 
for  several  years  past ;  but  among  twenty  millions  of  people, 
I  had  never  happened  to  meet  him,  at  least  to  my  knowl 
edge. 

At  last,  leaving  this  party,  I  pursued  my  way,  exhilarated 
by  the  lively  conversation  in  which  I  had  shared,  and  the 
pleasant  sympathies  exchanged  :  and  perhaps,  also,  by  the 
ale  I  had  drunk  : — fine  old  ale  ;  yes,  English  ale,  ale  brewed 
in  England  !  And  I  trod  English  soil ;  and  breathed  En 
glish  air ;  and  every  blade  of  grass  was  an  Englishman  born. 
Smoky  old  Liverpool,  with  all  its  pitch  and  tar  was  now  far 
behind ;  nothing  in  sight  but  open  meadows  and  fields. 

Come,  Wellingborough,  why  not  push  on  for  London  ? — 
Hurra !  what  say  you  ?  let's  have  a  peep  at  St.  Paul's  ! 
Don't  you  want  to  see  the  queen  ?  Have  you  no  longing  to 
behold  the  duke  ?  Think  of  Westminster  Abbey,  and  the 
Tunnel  under  the  Thames  !  Think  of  Hyde  Park,  and  the 
ladies  !" 

But  then,  thought  I  again,  with  my  hands  wildly  groping 
in  my  two  vacuums  of  pockets — who's  to  pay  the  bill?—— 
You  can't  beg  your  way,  Wellingborough  ;  that  would  never 
do  ;  for  you  are  your  father's  son,  Wellingborough ;  and  you 
must  not  disgrace  your  family  in  a  foreign  land ;  you  must 
not  turn  pauper. 

Ah !  Ah !  it  was  indeed  too  true ;  there  was  no  St. 
Paul's  or  Westminster  Abbey  for  me ;  that  was  flat. 

Well,  well,  up  heart,  you'll  see  it  one  of  these  days. 

But  think  of  it  !  here  I  am  on  the  very  road  that  leads 


268  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


to  the  Thames — think  of  that! — here  I  am — ay,  treading 
in  the  wheel-tracks  of  coaches  that  are  bound  for  the  metrop 
olis  ! — It  was  too  bad  ;  too  bitterly  bad.  But  I  shoved  my 
old  hat  over  my  brows,  and  walked  on ;  till  at  last  I  came 
to  a  green  bank,  deliciously  shaded  by  a  fine  old  tree  with 
broad  branching  arms,  that  stretched  themselves  over  the 
road,  like  a  hen  gathering  her  brood  under  her  wings. 
Down  on  the  green  grass  I  threw  myself  and  there  lay  my 
head,  like  a  last  year's  nut.  People  passed  by,  on  foot  and 
in  carriages,  and  little  thought  that  the  sad  youth  under  the 
tree  was  the  great-nephew  of  a  late  senator  in  the  Ameri 
can  Congress. 

Presently,  I  started  to  my  feet,  as  I  heard  a  gruff  voice 
behind  me  from  the  field,  crying  out — "  What  are  you  doing 
there,  you  young  rascal  ? — run  away  from  the  work'us,  have 
ye  ?  Tramp,  or  I'll  set  Blucher  on  ye  !" 

And  who  was  Blucher  ?  A  cut-throat  looking  dog,  with 
his  black  bull-muzzle  thrust  through  a  gap  in  the  hedge. 
And  his  master  ?  A  sturdy  farmer,  with  an  alarming 
cudgel  in  his  hand. 

"  Come,  are  you  going  to  start  ?"  he  cried. 
"  Presently,"  said  I,  making  off  with  great  dispatch. 
When  I  had  got  a  few  yards  into  the  middle  of  the  high 
road  (which  belonged  as  much  to  me  as  it  did  to  the  queen 
herself),  I  turned  round,  like  a  man  on  his  own  premises, 
and  said — "  Stranger  !  if  you  ever  visit  America,  just  call 
at  our  house,  and  you'll  always  find  there  a  dinner  and  a 
bed.  Don't  fail." 

I  then  walked  on  toward  Liverpool,  full  of  sad  thoughts 
concerning  the  cold  charities  of  the  world,  and  the  infamous 
reception  given  to  hapless  young  travelers,  in  broken-down 
shooting-j  ackets. 

On,  on  I  went,  along  the  skirts  of  forbidden  green  fields ; 
until  reaching  a  cottage,  before  which  I  stood  rooted. 

So  sweet  a  place  I  had  never  seen  :  no  palace  in  Persia 
could  be  pleasanter ;  there  were  flowers  in  the  garden ;  and 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  269 

six  red  cheeks,  like  six  moss-roses,  hanging  from  the  case 
ment.  At  the  embowered  door-way,  sat  an  old  man,  con 
fidentially  communing  with  his  pipe  :  while  a  little  child, 
sprawling  on  the  ground,  was  playing  with  his  shoe-strings. 
A  hale  matron,  but  with  rather  a  prim  expression,  was 
reading  a  journal  by  his  side :  and  three  charmers,  three 
Peris,  three  Houris  !  were  leaning  out  of  the  window  close 
by. 

Ah  !  Wellingborough,  don't  you  wish  you  could  step  in  ? 

With  a  heavy  heart  at  this  cheerful  sight,  I  was  turning 
to  go,  when — is  it  possible  ?  the  old  man  called  me  back, 
and  invited  me  in. 

"Come,  come,"  said  he,  "  you  look  as  if  you  had  walked 
far ;  come,  take  a  bowl  of  milk.  Matilda,  my  dear"  (how 
my  heart  jumped)  "go  fetch  some  from  the  dairy."  And  the 
white-handed  angel  did  meekly  obey,  and  handed  me — me, 
the  vagabond,  a  bowl  of  bubbling  milk,  which  I  could  hardly 
drink  down,  for  gazing  at  the  dew  on  her  lips. 

As  I  live,  I  could  have  married  that  charmer  on  the  spot ! 

She  was  by  far  the  most  beautiful  rosebud  I  had  yet  seen 
in  England.  But  I  endeavored  to  dissemble  my  ardent  ad 
miration  ;  and  in  order  to  do  away  at  once  with  any  unfa 
vorable  impressions  arising  from  the  close  scrutiny  of  my 
miserable  shooting-jacket,  which  was  now  taking  place,  I 
declared  myself  a  Yankee  sailor  from  Liverpool,  who  was 
spending  a  Sunday  in  the  country. 

"  And  have  you  been  to  church  to-day,  young  man  ?"  said 
the  old  lady,  looking  daggers. 

"  Good  madam,  I  have ;  the  little  church  down  yonder, 
you  know — a  most  excellent  sermon — I  am  much  the  better 
for  it." 

I  wanted  to  mollify  this  severe  looking  old  lady  ;  for  even 
my  short  experience  of  old  ladies  had  convinced  me  that  they 
are  the  hereditary  enemies  of  all  strange  young  men. 

I  soon  turned  the  conversation  toward  America,  a  theme 
which  I  knew  would  be  interesting,  and  upon  which  I  could 


270  RED  BURN: 


be  fluent  and  agreeable.  I  strove  to  talk  in  Addisonian  En 
glish,  and  ere  long  could  see  very  plainly  that  my  polished 
phrases  were  making  a  surprising  impression,  though  that 
miserable  shooting-jacket  of  mine  was  a  perpetual  drawback 
to  my  claims  to  gentility. 

Spite  of  all  my  blandishments,  however,  the  old  lady  stood 
her  post  like  a  sentry  ;  and  to  my  inexpressible  chagrin,  kept 
the  three  charmers  in  the  back  ground,  though  the  old  man 
frequently  called  upon  them  to  advance.  This  fine  speci 
men  of  an  old  Englishman  seemed  to  be  quite  as  free  from 
ungenerous  suspicions  as  his  vinegary  spouse  was  full  of  them. 
But  I  still  lingered,  snatching  furtive  glances  at  the  young 
ladies,  and  vehemently  talking  to  the  old  man  about  Illinois, 
and  the  river  Ohio,  and  the  fine  farms  in  the  Genesee  country, 
where,  in  harvest  time,  the  laborers  went  into  the  wheat 
fields  a  thousand  strong. 

Stick  to  it,  Wellingborough,  thought  I ;  don't  give  the 
old  lady  time  to  think  ;  stick  to  it,  my  boy,  and  an  invitation 
to  tea  will  reward  you.  At  last  it  came,  arid  the  old  lady 
abated  her  frowns. 

It  was  the  most  delightful  of  rneals  ;  the  three  charmers 
sat  all  on  one  side,  and  I  opposite,  between  the  old  man  and 
his  wife.  The  middle  charmer  poured  out  the  souchong, 
and  handed  me  the  buttered  muffins  ;  and  such  buttered 
muffins  never  were  spread  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic. 
The  butter  had  an  aromatic  flavor ;  by  Jove,  it  was  per 
fectly  delicious. 

And  there  they  sat — the  charmers,  I  mean — eating  these 
buttered  muffins  in  plain  sight.  I  wished  I  was  a  buttered 
muffin  myself.  Every  minute  they  grew  handsomer  and 
handsomer ;  and  I  could  not  help  thinking  what  a  fine 
thing  it  would  be  to  carry  home  a  beautiful  English  wife  ! 
how  my  friends  would  stare  !  a  lady  from  England  ! 

I  might  have  been  mistaken  ;  but  certainly  I  thought 
that  Matilda,  the  one  who  had  handed  me  the  rnilk,  some 
times  looked  rather  benevolently  in  the  direction  where  I  sat 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  271 

She  certainly  did  look  at  my  jacket ;  and  I  am  constrained 
to  think  at  my  face.  Could  it  be  possible  she  had  fallen  in 
love  at  first  sight  ?  Oh,  rapture  !  But  oh,  misery  !  that 
was  out  of  the  question  ;  for  what  a  looking  suitor  was  Wel- 
lingborough  ? 

At  length,  the  old  lady  glanced  toward  the  door,  and 
made  some  observations  about  its  being  yet  a  long  walk  to 
town.  She  handed  me  the  buttered  muffins,  too,  as  if  per 
forming  a  final  act  of  hospitality  ;  and  in  other  fidgety  ways 
vaguely  hinted  her  desire  that  I  should  decamp. 

Slowly  I  rose,  and  murmured  my  thanks,  and  bowed,  and 
tried  to  be  off;  but  as  quickly  I  turned,  and  bowed,  and 
thanked,  and  lingered  again  and  again.  Oh,  charmers  !  oh, 
Peris  !  thought  I,  must  I  go  ?  Yes,  Wellingborough,  you 
must ;  so  I  made  one  desperate  congee,  and  darted  through 
the  door. 

I  have  never  seen  them  since  :  no,  nor  heard  of  them  ; 
but  to  this  day  I  live  a  bachelor  on  account  of  those  ravish 
ing  charmers  ! 

As  the  long  twilight  was  waning  deeper  and  deeper  into 
night,  I  entered  the  town  ;  and,  plodding  my  solitary  way 
to  the  same  old  docks,  I  passed  through  the  gates,  and 
scrambled  my  way  among  tarry  smells,  across  the  tiers  of 
ships  between  the  quay  and  the  Highlander.  My  only  re 
source  was  my  bunk ;  in  I  turned,  and,  wearied  with  my 
long  stroll,  was  soon  fast  asleep,  dreaming  of  red  cheeks  and 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 

REDBURN  INTRODUCES  MASTER  HARRY  BOLTON  TO  THE  FAVOR 
ABLE   CONSIDERATION    OF   THE   READER. 

IT  was  the  day  following  my  Sunday  stroll  into  the 
country,  and  when  I  had  been  in  England  four  weeks  or 
more,  that  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  handsome,  accom 
plished,  but  unfortunate  youth,  young  Harry  Bolton.  He 
was  one  of  those  small,  but  perfectly  formed  beings,  with 
curling  hair,  and  silken  muscles,  who  seem  to  have  been 
born  in  cocoons.  His  complexion  was  a  mantling  brunette, 
feminine  as  a  girl's  ;  his  feet  were  small ;  his  hands  were 
white  ;  and  his  eyes  were  large,  black,  and  womanly  ;  and, 
poetry  aside,  his  voice  was  as  the  sound  of  a  harp. 

But  where,  among  the  tarry  docks,  and  smoky  sailor-lanes 
and  by-ways  of  a  seaport,  did  I,  a  battered  Yankee  boy, 
encounter  this  courtly  youth  ? 

Several  evenings  I  had  noticed  him  in  our  street  of  board 
ing-houses,  standing  in  the  doorways,  and  silently  regarding 
the  animated  scenes  without.  His  beauty,  dress,  and  man 
ner  struck  me  as  so  out  of  place  in  such  a  street,  that  I 
could  not  possibly  divine  what  had  transplanted  this  delicate 
exotic  from  the  conservatories  of  some  Regent-street  to  the 
untidy  potato-patches  of  Liverpool. 

At  last  I  suddenly  encountered  him  at  the  sign  of  the 
Baltimore  Clipper.  He  was  speaking  to  one  of  my  ship 
mates  concerning  America ;  and  from  something  that  dropped, 
I  was  led  to  imagine  that  he  contemplated  a  voyage  to  my 
country.  Charmed  with  his  appearance,  and  all  eagerness 
to  enjoy  the  society  of  this  incontrovertible  son  of  a  gentle 
man — a  kind  of  pleasure  so  long  debarred  me — I  smoothed 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  273 

down  the  skirts  of  my  jacket,  and  at  once  accosted  him; 
declaring  who  I  was,  and  that  nothing  would  afford  me 
greater  delight  than  to  be  of  the  least  service,  in  imparting 
any  information  concerning  America  that  he  needed. 

He  glanced  from  my  face  to  my  jacket,  and  from  my 
jacket  to  my  face,  and  at  length,  with  a  pleased  but  some 
what  puzzled  expression,  begged  me  to  accompany  him  on  a 
walk. 

We  rambled  about  St.  George's  Pier  until  nearly  mid 
night  ;  but  before  we  parted,  with  uncommon  frankness,  he 
told  me  many  strange  things  respecting  his  history. 

According  to  his  own  account,  Harry  Bolton  was  a  native 
of  Bury  St.  Edmunds,  a  borough  in  Suffolk,  not  very  far 
from  London,  where  he  was  early  left  an  orphan,  under  the 
charge  of  an  only  aunt.  Between  his  aunt  and  himself,  his 
mother  had  divided  her  fortune  ;  and  young  Harry  thus  fell 
heir  to  a  portion  of  about  five  thousand  pounds. 

Being  of  a  roving  mind,  as  he  .approached  his  majority  he 
grew  restless  of  the  retirement  of  a  country  place ;  especially 
as  he  had  no  profession  or  business  of  any  kind  to  engage 
his  attention. 

In  vain  did  Bury,  with  all  its  fine  old  monastic  attrac 
tions,  lure  him  to  abide  on  the  beautiful  banks  of  her  Larke, 
and  under  the  shadow  of  her  stately  and  storied  old  Saxon 
tower. 

By  all  my  rare  old  historic  associations,  breathed  Bury  ; 
by  my  Abbey-gate,  that  bears  to  this  day  the  arms  of 
Edward  the  Confessor ;  by  my  carved  roof  of  the  old  church 
of  St.  Mary's,  which  escaped  the  low  rage  of  the  bigoted 
Puritans;  by  the  royal  ashes  of. Mary  Tudor,  that  sleep  in 
my  midst ;  by  my  Norman  ruins,  and  by  all  the  old  abbots 
of  Bury,  do  not,  oh  Harry  !  abandon  me.  Where  will  you 
find  shadier  walks  than  under  my  lime-trees  ?  where  lovelier 
gardens  than  those  within  the  old  walls  of  my  monastery, 
approached  through  my  lordly  Gate  ?  Or  if,  oh  Harry  ! 
indifferent  to  my  historic  mosses,  and  caring  not  for  my 

M* 


.274  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


annual  verdure,  thou  must  needs  be  lured  by  other  tassels, 
and  wouldst  fain,  like  the  Prodigal,  squander  thy  patrimony, 
then,  go  not  away  from  old  Bury  to  do  it.  For  here,  on 
Angel-Hill,  are  my  coffee  and  card-rooms,  and  billiard  saloons, 
where  you  may  lounge  away  your  mornings,  and  empty  your 
glass  and  your  purse  as  you  list. 

In  vain.  Bury  was  no  place  for  the  adventurous  Harry, 
who  must  needs  hie  to  London,  where  in  one  winter,  in  the 
company  of  gambling  sportsmen  and  dandies,  he  lost  his  last 
sovereign. 

What  now  was  to  be  done  ?  His  friends  made  interest  for 
him  in  the  requisite  quarters,  and  Harry  was  soon  embarked 
for  Bombay,  as  a  midshipman  in  the  East  India  service ;  in 
which  office  he  was  known  as  a  "guinea-pig"  a  humorous 
appellation  then  bestowed  upon  the  middies  of  the  Company. 
And  considering  the  perversity  of  his  behavior,  his  delicate 
form,  and  soft  complexion,  and  that  gold  guineas  had  been 
his  bane,  this  appellation  was  not  altogether,  in  poor  Harry's 
case,  inapplicable. 

He  made  one  voyage,  and  returned ;  another,  and  returned  ; 
and  then  threw  up  his  warrant  in  disgust.  A  few  weeks' 
dissipation  in  London,  and  again  his  purse  was  almost  drained ; 
when,  like  many  prodigals,  scorning  to  return  home  to  his 
aunt,  and  amend — though  she  had  often  written  him  the 
kindest  of  letters  to  that  effect — Harry  resolved  to  precipitate 
himself  upon  the  New  World,  and  there  carve  out  a  fresh 
fortune. 

With  this  object  in  view,  he  packed  his  trunks,  and  took 
the  first  train  for  Liverpool.  Arrived  in  that  town,  he  at 
once  betook  himself  to  the  docks,  to  examine  the  American 
shipping,  when  a  new  crotchet  entered  his  brain,  born  of  his 
old  sea  reminiscences.  It  was  to  assume  duck  trowsers  and 
tarpaulin,  and  gallantly  cross  the  Atlantic  as  a  sailor.  There 
was  a  dash  of  romance  in  it ;  a  taking  abandonment ;  and 
a  scorn  of  fine  coats,  which  exactly  harmonized  with  his 
r&ckless  contempt,  at  the  time,  for  all  past  conventionalities. 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  275 

Thus  determined,  he  exchanged  his  trunk  for  a  mahogany 
chest ;  sold  some  of  his  superfluities ;  and  moved  his  quarters 
to  the  sign  of  the  Gold  Anchor  in  Union-street. 

After  making  his  acquaintance,  and  learning  his  intentions, 
I  was  all  anxiety  that  Harry  should  accompany  me  home 
in  the  Highlander,  a  desire  to  which  he  warmly  responded. 

Nor  was  I  without  strong  hopes  that  he  would  succeed 
in  an  application  to  the  captain ;  inasmuch  as  during  our 
stay  in  the  docks,  three  of  our  crew  had  left  us,  and  their 
places  would  remain  unsupplied  till  just  upon  the  eve  of  our 
departure. 

And  here,  it  may  as  well  be  related,  that  owing  to  the 
heavy  charges  to  which  the  American  ships  long  staying  in 
Liverpool  are  subjected,  from  the  obligation  to  continue  the 
wages  of  their  seamen,  when  they  have  little  or  no  work  to 
employ  them,  and  from  the  necessity  of  boarding  them  ashore, 
like  lords,  at  their  leisure,  captains  interested  in  the  owner 
ship  of  their  vessels,  are  not  at  all  indisposed  to  let  their 
sailors  abscond,  if  they  please,  and  thus  forfeit  their  money ; 
for  they  well  know  that,  when  wanted,  a  new  crew  is  easily 
to  be  procured,  through  the  crimps  of  the  port. 

Though  he  spake  English  with  fluency,  and  from  his  long 
service  in  the  vessels  of  New  York,  was  almost  an  American 
to  behold,  yet  Captain  Riga  was  in  fact  a  Hussian  by  birth, 
though  this  was  a  fact  that  he  strove  to  conceal.  And 
though  extravagant  in  his  personal  expenses,  and  even  in 
dulging  in  luxurious  habits,  costly  as  Oriental  dissipation, 
yet  Captain  Riga  was  a  niggard  to  others  ;  as,  indeed,  was 
evinced  in  the  magnificent  stipend  of  three  dollars,  with  which 
he  requited  my  own  valuable  services.  Therefore,  as  it  was 
agreed  between  Harry  and  me,  that  he  should  offer  to  ship 
as  a  "boy"  at  the  same  rate  of  compensation  with  myself, 
I  made  no  doubt  that,  incited  by  the  cheapness  of  the  bar 
gain,  Captain  Riga  would  gladly  close  with  him  ;  and  thus, 
instead  of  paying  sixteen  dollars  a  month  to  a  thorough-going 
tar,  who  would  consume  all  his  rations,  buy  up  my  young 


276  REDBURN: 

blade  of  Bury,  at  the  rate  of  half  a  dollar  a  week  ;  with  the 
cheering  prospect,  that  by  the  end  of  the  voyage,  his  fastid 
ious  palate  would  be  the  means  of  leaving  a  handsome  balance 
of  salt  beef  and  pork  in  the  harness-cask. 

With  part  of  the  money  obtained  by  the  sale  of  a  few  of 
his  velvet  vests,  Harry,  by  my  advice,  now  rigged  himself 
in  a  Guernsey  frock  and  man-of-war  trowsers ;  and  thus 
equipped,  he  made  his  appearance,  one  fine  morning,  on  the 
quarter-deck  of  the  Highlander,  gallantly  doffing  his  virgin 
tarpaulin  before  the  redoubtable  Riga. 

No  sooner  were  his  wishes  made  known,  than  I  perceived 
in  the  captain's  face  that  same  bland,  benevolent,  and  be- 
witchingly  merry  expression,  that  had  so  charmed,  but 
deceived  me,  when,  with  Mr.  Jones,  I  had  first  accosted 
him  in  the  cabin. 

Alas,  Harry  !  thought  I, — as  I  stood  upon  the  forecastle 
looking  astern  where  they  stood, — that  "  gallant,  gay  de 
ceiver'"  shall  not  altogether  cajole  you,  if  Wellingborough 
can  help  it.  Rather  than  that  should  be  the  case,  indeed, 
I  would  forfeit  the  pleasure  of  your  society  across  the  At 
lantic. 

At  this  interesting  interview  the  captain  expressed  a  sym 
pathetic  concern  touching  the  sad  necessities,  which  he  took 
upon  himself  to  presume  must  have  driven  Harry  to  sea  ;  he 
confessed  to  a  warm  interest  in  his  future  welfare  ;  and  did 
not  hesitate  to  declare  that,  in  going  to  America,  under  such 
circumstances,  to  seek  his  fortune,  he  was  acting  a  manly 
and  spirited  part ;  and  that  the  voyage  thither,  as  a  sailor, 
would  be  an  invigorating  preparative  to  the  landing  upon  a 
shore,  where  he  must  battle  out  his  fortune  with  Fate. 

He  engaged  him  at  once  ;  but  was  sorry  to  say,  that  he 
could  not  provide  him  a  home  on  board  till  the  day  previous 
to  the  sailing  of  the  ship  ;  and  during  the  interval,  he  could 
not  honor  any  drafts  upon  the  strength  of  his  wages. 

However,  glad  enough  to  conclude  the  agreement  upon 
any  terms  at  all,  my  young  blade  of  Bury  expressed  his  sat- 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  377 

isfaction ;  and  full  of  admiration  at  so  urbane  and  gentle 
manly  a  sea-captain,  he  came  forward  to  receive  my  con 
gratulations. 

"Harry,"  said  I,  "be  not  deceived  by  the  fascinating 
Riga — that  gay  Lothario  of  all  inexperienced,  sea-goirig 
youths,  from  the  capital  or  the  country ;  he  has  a  Janus- 
face,  Harry  ;  and  you  will  not  know  him  when  he  gets  you 
out  of  sight  of  land,  and  mounts  his  cast-off  coats  and 
trowsers.  For  then  he  is  another  personage  altogether,  and 
adjusts  his  character  to  the  shabbiness  of  his  integuments. 
No  more  condolings  and  sympathy  then  ;  no  more  blarney  ; 
he  will  hold  you  a  little  better  than  his  boots,  and  would 
no  more  think  of  addressing  you  than  of  invoking  wooden 
Donald,  the  figure-head  on  our  bows." 

And  I  further  admonished  my  friend  concerning  our  crew, 
particularly  of  the  diabolical  Jackson,  and  warned  him  to  be 
cautious  and  wary.  I  told  him,  that  unless  he  was  some 
what  accustomed  to  the  rigging,  and  could  furl  a  royal  in  a 
squall,  he  would  be  sure  to  subject  himself  to  a  sort  of  treat 
ment  from  the  sailors,  in  the  last  degree  ignominious  to  any 
mortal  who  had  ever  crossed  his  legs  under  mahogany. 

And  I  played  the  inquisitor,  in  cross-questioning  Harry 
respecting  the  precise  degree  in  which  he  was  a  practical 
sailor  ; — whether  he  had  a  giddy  head  ;  whether  his  arms 
could  bear  the  weight  of  his  body  ;  whether,  with  but  one 
hand  on  a  shroud,  a  hundred  feet  aloft  in  a  tempest,  he  felt 
he  could  look  right  to  windward  and  beard  it. 

To  all  this,  and  much  more,  Harry  rejoined  with  the 
most  off-hand  and  confident  air  ;  saying  that  in  his  "  guinea- 
pig"  days,  he  had  often  climbed  the  masts  and  handled  the 
sails  in  a  gentlemanly  and  amateur  way;  so  he  made  no 
doubt  that  he  would  very  soon  prove  an  expert  tumbler  in 
the  Highlander's  rigging. 

His  levity  of  manner,  and  sanguine  assurance,  coupled 
with  the  constant  sight  of  his  most  unseamanlike  person — 
more  suited  to  the  Queen's  drawing-room  than  a  ship's  fore- 


278  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


castle — bred  many  misgivings  in  my  mind.  But  after  all, 
every  one  in  this  world  has  his  own  fate  intrusted  to  him 
self;  and  though  we  may  warn,  and  forewarn,  and  give 
sage  advice,  and  indulge  in  many  apprehensions  touching 
our  friends ;  yet  our  friends,  for  the  most  part,  will  "  gang 
their  ain  gate;"  and  the  most  we  can  do  is,  to  hope  for 
the  best.  Still,  I  suggested  to  Harry,  whether  he  had  not 
best  cross  the  sea  as  a  steerage  passenger,  since  he  could 
procure  enough  money  for  that ;  but  no,  he  was  bent  upon 
going  as  a  sailor. 

I  now  had  a  comrade  in  my  afternoon  strolls,  and  Sun 
day  excursions  ;  and  as  Harry  was  a  generous  fellow,  he 
shared  with  me  his  purse  and  his  heart.  He  sold  off  sev 
eral  more  of  his  fine  vests  and  trowsers,  his  silver-keyed 
flute  and  enameled  guitar  ;  and  a  portion  of  the  money 
thus  furnished  was  pleasantly  spent  in  refreshing  ourselves 
at  the  road-side  inns  in  the  vicinity  of  the  town. 

Reclining  side  by  side  in  some  agreeable  nook,  we  ex 
changed  our  experiences  of  the  past.  Harry  enlarged  upon 
the  fascinations  of  a  London  life  ;  described  the  curricle  he 
used  to  drive  in  Hyde  Park ;  gave  me  the  measurement  of 
Madame  Vestris'  ankle  ;  alluded  to  his  first  introduction  at 
a  club  to  the  madcap  Marquis  of  Waterford  ;  told  over  the 
sums  he  had  lost  upon  the  turf  on  a  Derby  day  ;  and  made 
various  but  enigmatical  allusions  to  a  certain  Lady  Georgi- 
ana  Theresa,  the  noble  daughter  of  an  anonymous  earl. 

Even  in  conversation,  Harry  was  a  prodigal ;  squander 
ing  his  aristocratic  narrations  with  a  careless  hand  ;  and,  per 
haps,  sometimes  spending  funds  of  reminiscences  not  his  own. 

As  for  me,  I  had  only  my  poor  old  uncle  the  senator  to 
fall  back  upon  ;  and  I  used  him  upon  all  emergencies,  like 
the  knight  in  the  game  of  chess  ;  making  him  hop  about, 
and  stand  stifly  up  to  the  encounter,  against  all  my  fine 
comrade's  array  of  dukes,  lords,  curricles,  and  countesses. 

In  these  long  talks  of  ours,  I  frequently  expressed  the 
earnest  desire  I  cherished,  to  make  a  visit  to  London  ;  and 


HIS   FIRST    VOYAGE.  279 

related  how  strongly  tempted  I  had  been,  one  Sunday,  to 
walk  the  whole  way,  without  a  penny  in  my  pocket.  To 
this,  Harry  rejoined,  that  nothing  would  delight  him  more, 
than  to  show  me  the  capital ;  and  he  even  meaningly  but 
mysteriously  hinted  at  the  possibility  of  his  doing  so,  before 
many  days  had  passed.  But  this  seemed  so  idle  a  thought, 
that  I  only  imputed  it  to  my  friend's  good-natured,  rattling 
disposition,  which  sometimes  prompted  him  to  out  with  any 
thing,  that  he  thought  would  be  agreeable.  Besides,  would 
this  fine  blade  of  Bury  be  seen,  by  his  aristocratic  acquaint 
ances,  walking  down  Oxford-street,  say,  arm  in  arm  with 
the  sleeve  of  my  shooting-jacket  ?  The  thing  was  prepos 
terous  ;  and  I  began  to  think,  that  Harry,  after  all,  was  a 
little  bit  disposed  to  impose  upon  my  Yankee  credulity. 

Luckily,  my  Bury  blade  had  no  acquaintance  in  Liver 
pool,  where,  indeed,  he  was  as  much  in  a  foreign  land,  as  if 
he  were  already  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Erie  ;  so  that  he 
strolled  about  with  me  in  perfect  abandonment ;  reckless  of 
the  cut  of  my  shooting-jacket ;  and  not  caring  one  whit  who 
might  stare  at  so  singular  a  couple. 

But  once,  crossing  a  square,  faced  on  one  side  by  a  fash 
ionable  hotel,  he  made  a  rapid  turn  with  me  round  a  corner  ; 
and  never  stopped,  till  the  square  was  a  good  block  in  our 
rear.  The  cause  of  this  sudden  retreat,  was  a  remarkably 
elegant  coat  and  pantaloons,  standing  upright  on  the  hotel 
steps,  and  containing  a  young  buck,  tapping  his  teeth  with 
an  ivory-headed  riding- whip. 

«  Who  was  he,  Harry  ?"  said  I. 

"  My  old  chum,  Lord  Lovely,"  said  Harry,  with  a  care 
less  air,  "  and  Heaven  only  knows  what  brings  Lovely  from 
London." 

"  A  lord  ?"  said  I,  starting  ;  "  then  I  must  look  at  him 
again  ;"  for  lords  are  very  scarce  in  Liverpool. 

Unmindful  of  my  companion's  remonstrances,  I  ran  back 
to  the  corner  ;  and  slowly  promenaded  past  the  upright  coat 
and  pantaloons  on  the  steps 


280  REDBURN: 


It  was  not  much  of  a  lord  to  behold  ;  very  thin  and 
limber  about  the  legs,  with  small  feet  like  a  doll's,  and  a 
small,  glossy  head  like  a  seal's.  I  had  seen  just  such  look 
ing  lords  standing  in  sentimental  attitudes  in  front  of  Palmo's 
in  Broadway. 

However,  he  and  I  being  mutual  friends  of  Harry's,  I 
thought  something  of  accosting  him,  and  taking  counsel 
concerning  what  was  best  to  be  done  for  the  young  prodigal's 
welfare  ;  but  upon  second  thoughts  I  thought  best  not  to  in 
trude  ;  especially,  as  just  then  my  lord  Lovely  stepped  to 
the  open  window  of  a  flashing  carriage  which  drew  up  ; 
and  throwing  himself  into  an  interesting  posture,  with  the 
sole  of  one  boot  vertically  exposed,  so  as  to  show  the  stamp 
on  it — a  coronet — fell  into  a  sparkling  conversation  with  a 
magnificent  white  satin  hat,  surmounted  by  a  regal  marabout 
feather,  inside. 

I  doubted  not,  this  lady  was  nothing  short  of  a  peeress  ; 
and  thought  it  would  be  one  of  the  pleasantest  and  most 
charming  things  in  the  world,  just  to  seat  myself  beside  her, 
and  order  the  coachman  to  take  us  a  drive  into  the  country. 

But.  as  upon  further  consideration,  I  imagined  that  the 
peeress  might  decline  the  honor  of  my  company,  since  I  had 
no  formal  card  of  introduction ;  I  marched  on,  and  rejoined 
my  companion,  whom  I  at  once  endeavored  to  draw  out, 
touching  Lord  Lovely  ;  but  he  only  made  mysterious  an 
swers  ;  and  turned  off  the  conversation,  by  allusions  to  his 
visits  to  Ickworth  in  Suffolk,  the  magnificent  seat  of  the 
Most  Noble  Marquis  of  Bristol,  who  had  repeatedly  assured 
Harry  that  he  might  consider  Ickworth  his  home. 

Now,  all  these  accounts  of  marquises  and  Ickworths,  and 
Harry's  having  been  hand  in  glove  with  so  many  lords  and 
ladies,  began  to  breed  some  suspicions  concerning  the  rigid 
morality  of  my  friend,  as  a  teller  of  the  truth.  But,  after 
all,  thought  I  to  myself,  who  c'an  prove  that  Harry  has 
fibbed  ?  Certainly,  his  manners  are  polished,  he  has  a 
mighty  easy  address ;  and  there  is  nothingv  altogether  impos- 


HIS   FIRST   VOYAGE.  281 

sible  about  his  having  consorted  with  the  master  of  Ickworth, 
and  the  daughter  of  the  anonymous  earl.  And  what  right 
has  a  poor  Yankee,  like  me,  to  insinuate  the  slightest  sus 
picion  against  what  he  says  ?  What  little  money  he  has, 
he  spends  freely ;  he  can  not  be  a  polite  blackleg,  for  I  am 
no  pigeon  to  pluck  ;  so  that  is  out  of  the  question  ; — perish 
such  a  thought,  concerning  my  own  bosom  friend  ! 

But  though  I  drowned  all  my  suspicions  as  well  as  I 
could,  and  ever  cherished  toward  Harry  a  heart,  loving  and 
true  ;  yet,  spite  of  all  this,  I  never  could  entirely  digest  some 
of  his  imperial  reminiscences  of  high  life.  I  was  very  sorry 
for  this ;  as  at  times  it  made  me  feel  ill  at  ease  in  his  com 
pany  ;  and  made  me  hold  back  my  whole  soul  from  him  ; 
when,  in  its  loneliness,  it  was  yearning  to  throw  itself  into 
the  unbounded  bosom  of  some  immaculate  friend. 


CHAPTER   XLV. 

HARRY  BOLTON  KIDNAPS  REDBURN,   AND   CARRIES   HIM  OFF   TO 
LONDON. 

IT  might  have  been  a  week  after  our  glimpse  of  Lord 
Lovely,  that  Harry,  who  had  been  expecting  a  letter,  which, 
he  told  me,  might  possibly  alter  his  plans  ;  one  afternoon 
came  bounding  on  board  the  ship,  and  sprang  down  the 
hatchway  into  the  between-decks,  where,  in  perfect  solitude, 
I  was  engaged  picking  oakum ;  at  which  business  the  mate 
had  set  me,  for  want  of  any  thing  better. 

"  Hey  for  London,  Wellingborough  !  "  he  cried.  "  Off 
to-morrow  !  first  train — be  there  the  same  night — come  !  I 
have  money  to  rig  you  all  out — drop  that  hangman's  stuff 
there,  and  away  !  Pah  !  how  it  smells  here  !  Come  ;  up 
you  jump  !" 

I  trembled  with  amazement  and  delight. 

London  ?  it  could  not  be  !  —  and  Harry — how  kind  of 
him  !  he  was  then  indeed  what  he  seemed.  But  instantly 
I  thought  of  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  and  was  eager 
to  know  what  it  was  that  had  induced  this  sudden  departure. 

In  reply  my  friend  told  me,  that  he  had  received  a  re 
mittance,  and  had  hopes  of  recovering  a  considerable  sum, 
lost  in  some  way  that  he  chose  to  conceal. 

"  But  how  am  I  to  leave  the  ship,  Harry  ?'  said  I ; 
"  they  will  not  let  me  go,  will  they  ?  You  had  better 
leave  me  behind,  after  all :  I  don't  care  very  much  about 
going  ;  and  besides,  I  have  no  money  to  share  the  expenses." 

This  I  said,  only  pretending  indifference,  for  my  heart 
was  jumping  all  the  time. 


HIS   FIRST   VOYAGE.  283 

"  Tut !  my  Yankee  bantam,"  said  Harry  ;  "  look  here  !" 
and  he  showed  me  a  handful  of  gold. 

"  But  they  are  yours,  and  not  mine,  Harry,"  said  I. 

"  Yours  and  mine,  my  sweet  fellow,"  exclaimed  Harry. 
"  Come,  sink  the  ship,  and  let's  go  !" 

"  But  you  don't  consider,  if  I  quit  the  ship,  they'll  be 
sending  a  constable  after  me,  won't  they  ?" 

"  What  1  and  do  you  think,  then,  they  value  your  services 
so  highly  ?  Ha  !  ha  ! — Up,  up,  Welh'ngborough  :  I  can't 
wait." 

True  enough.  I  well  knew  that  Captain  Riga  would 
not  trouble  himself  much,  if  I  did  take  French  leave  of  him. 
So,  without  further  thought  of  the  matter,  I  told  Harry  to 
wait  a  few  moments,  till  the  ship's  bell  struck  four ;  at  which 
time  I  used  to  go  to  supper,  and  be  free  for  the  rest  of  the  day. 

The  bell  struck  ;  and  off  we  went.  As  we  hurried  across 
the  quay,  and  along  the  dock  walls,  I  asked  Harry  all 
about  his  intentions.  He  said,  that  go  to  London  he  must, 
and  to  Bury  St.  Edmund's  ;  but  that  whether  he  should  for 
any  time  remain  at  either  place,  he  could  not  now  tell ;  and 
it  was  by  no  means  impossible,  that  in  less  than  a  week's 
time  we  would  be  back  again  in  Liverpool,  and  ready  for 
sea.  But  all  he  said  was  enveloped  in  a  mystery  that  I  did 
not  much  like ;  and  I  hardly  know  whether  I  have  repeated 
correctly  what  he  said  at  the  time. 

Arrived  at  the  Golden  Anchor,  where  Harry  put  up,  he 
at  once  led  me  to  his  room,  and  began  turning  over  the  con 
tents  of  his  chest,  to  see  what  clothing  he  might  have,  that 
would  fit  me. 

Though  he  was  some  years  my  senior,  we  were  about  the 
same  size — if  any  thing,  I  was  larger  than  he ;  so,  with  a 
little  stretching,  a  shirt,  vest,  and  pantaloons  were  soon 
found  to  suit.  As  for  a  coat  and  hat,  those  Harry  ran  out 
and  bought  without  delay ;  returning  with  a  loose,  stylish 
sack-coat,  and  a  sort  of  foraging  cap,  very  neat,  genteel,  and 
unpretending. 


284  REDBURN: 


My  friend  himself  soon  doffed  his  Guernsey  frock,  and 
stood  before  me,  arrayed  in  a  perfectly  plain  suit,  which  he 
had  bought  on  purpose  that  very  morning.  I  asked  him 
why  he  had  gone  to  that  unnecessary  expense,  when  he  had 
plenty  of  other  clothes  in  his  chest.  But  he  only  winked, 
and  looked  knowing.  This,  again>  I  did  not  like.  But 
I  strove  to  drown  ugly  thoughts. 

Till  quite  dark,  we  sat  talking  together ;  when,  locking 
his  chest,  and  charging  his  landlady  to  look  after  it  well,  till 
he  called,  or  sent  for  it ;  Harry  seized  my  arm,  and  we  sal 
lied  into  the  street. 

Pursuing  our  way  through  crowds  of  frolicking  sailors  and 
fiddlers,  we  turned  into  a  street  leading  to  the  Exchange. 
There,  under  the  shadow  of  the  colonnade,  Harry  told  me  to 
stop,  while  he  left  me,  and  went  to  finish  his  toilet.  Won 
dering  what  he  meant,  I  stood  to  one  side  ;  and  presently 
was  joined  by  a  stranger  in  whiskers  and  mustache. 

"  It's  me"  said  the  stranger;  and  who  was  me  but  Harry, 
who  had  thus  metamorphosed  himself?  I  asked  him  the 
reason  ;  and  in  a  faltering  voice,  which  I  tried  to  make  hu 
morous,  expressed  a  hope  that  he  was  not  going  to  turn 
gentleman  forger. 

He  laughed,  and  assured  me  that  it  was  only  a  precau 
tion  against  being  recognized  by  his  own  particular  friends 
in  London,  that  he  had  adopted  this  mode  of  disguising 
himself. 

"  And  why  afraid  of  your  friends  ?"  asked  I,  in  astonish 
ment,  "  and  we  are  not  in  London  yet." 

"  Pshaw !  what  a  Yankee  you  are,  Wellingborough. 
Can't  you  see  very  plainly  that  I  have  a  plan  in  my  head  ? 
And  this  disguise  is  only  for  a  short  time,  you  know.  But 
I'll  tell  you  all  by  and  by." 

I  acquiesced,  though;  not  feeling  at  ease ;  and  we  walked 
on,  till  we  came  to  a  public  house,  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
place  at  which  the  cars  are  taken. 

We  stopped  there  that  night,  and  next   day  were  off, 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  285 

whirled  along  through  boundless  landscapes  of  villages,  and 
meadows,  and  parks  :  and  over  arching  viaducts,  and  through 
wonderful  tunnels  ;  till,  half  delirious  with  excitement,  I 
found  myself  dropped  down  in  the  evening  among  gas-lights, 
under  a  great  roof  in  Euston  Square. 
London  at  last,  and  in  the  West-End  ! 


CHAPTER  XL VI. 

A    MYSTERIOUS    NIGHT    IN    LONDON. 

"  No  time  to  lose,"  said  Harry,  "  come  along." 

He  called  a  cab  :  in  an  under  tone  mentioned  the  number 
of  a  house  in  some  street  to  the  driver  ;  we  jumped  in,  and 
were  off. 

As  we  rattled  over  the  boisterous  pavements,  past  splendid 
squares,  churches,  and  shops,  our  cabman  turning  corners 
like  a  skater  on  the  ice,  and  all  the  roar  of  London  in  my 
ears,  and  no  end  to  the  walls  of  brick  and  mortar ;  I  thought 
New  York  a  hamlet,  and  Liverpool  a  coal-hole,  and  myself 
somebody  else  :  so  unreal  seemed  every  thing  about  me. 
My  head  was  spinning  round  like  a  top,  and  my  eyes  ached 
with  much  gazing  ;  particularly  about  the  corners,  owing 
to  my  darting  them  so  rapidly,  first  this  side,  and  then  that, 
so  as  not  to  miss  any  thing  ;  though,  in  truth,  I  missed 
much. 

"  Stop,"  cried  Harry,  after  a  long  while,  putting  his  head 
out  of  the  window,  all  at  once — "  stop  !  do  you  hear,  you 
deaf  man  ?  you  have  passed  the  house — No.  401  told  you 
— that's  it — the  high  steps  there,  with  the  purple  light !" 

The  cabman  being  paid,  Harry  adjusting  his  whiskers  and 
mustache,  and  bidding  me  assume  a  lounging  look,  pushed 
his  hat  a  little  to  one  side,  and  then  locking  arms,  we  saun 
tered  into  the  house  ;  myself  feeling  not  a  little  abashed  ;  it 
was  so  long  since  I  had  been  in  any  courtly  society. 

It  was  some  semi-public  place  of  opulent  entertainment ; 
and  far  surpassed  any  thing  of  the  kind  I  had  ever  seen 
before. 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  287 

The  floor  was  tesselated  with  snow-white,  and  russet-hued 
marbles  ;  and  echoed  to  the  tread,  as  if  all  the  Paris  cata 
combs  were  underneath.  I  started  with  misgivings  at  that 
hollow,  boding  sound,  which  seemed  sighing  with  a  subter- 
aneous  despair,  through  all  the  magnificent  spectacle  around 
me  ;  mocking  it,  where  most  it  glared. 

The  walls  were  painted  so  as  to  deceive  the  eye  with 
interminable  colonnades  ;  and  groups  of  columns  of  the  finest 
Scagliola  work  of  variegated  marbles — emerald-green  and 
gold,  St.  Pons  veined  with  silver,  Sienna  with  porphyry — 
supported  a  resplendent  fresco  ceiling,  arched  like  a  bower, 
and  thickly  clustering  with  mimic  grapes.  Through  all  the 
East  of  this  foliage,  you  spied  in  a  crimson  dawn,  Guide's 
ever  youthful  Apollo,  driving  forth  the  horses  of  the  sun. 
From  sculptured  stalactites  of  vine-boughs,  here  and  there 
pendent  hung  galaxies  of  gas  lights,  whose  vivid  glare  was 
softened  by  pale,  cream-colored,  porcelain  spheres,  shedding 
over  the  place  a  serene,  silver  flood ;  as  if  every  porcelain 
sphere  were  a  moon ;  and  this  superb  apartment  was  the 
moon-lit  garden  of  Portia  at  Belmont;  and  the  gentle 
lovers,  Lorenzo  and  Jessica,  lurked  somewhere  among  the 
vines. 

At  numerous  Moorish  looking  tables,  supported  by  Cary 
atides  of  turbaned  slaves,  sat  knots  of  gentlemanly  men, 
with  cut  decanters  and  taper- waisted  glasses,  journals  and 
cigars,  before  them. 

To  and  fro  ran  obsequious  waiters,  with  spotless  napkins 
thrown  over  their  arms,  and  making  a  profound  salaam,  and 
hemming  deferentially,  whenever  they  uttered  a  word. 

At  the  further  end  of  this  brilliant  apartment,  was  a 
rich  mahogony  turret-like  structure,  partly  built  into  the 
wall,  and  communicating  with  rooms  in  the  rear.  Behind, 
was  a  very  handsome  florid  old  man,  with  snow-white  hair 
and  whiskers,  and  in  a  snow-white  jacket — he  looked  like 
an  almond  tree  in  blossom — who  seemed  to  be  standing,  a 
polite  sentry  over  the  scene  before  him ;  and  it  was  he,  who 


REDBUEN: 


mostly  ordered  about  the  waiters ;  and  with  a  silent  salute, 
received  the  silver  of  the  guests. 

Our  entrance  excited  little  or  no  notice ;  for  every  body 
present  seemed  exceedingly  animated  about  concerns  of  their 
own ;  and  a  large  group  was  gathered  around  one  tall, 
military  looking  gentleman,  who  was  reading  some  India 
war-news  from  the  Times,  and  commenting  on  it,  in  a  very 
loud  voice,  condemning,  in  toto,  the  entire  campaign. 

We  seated  ourselves  apart  from  this  group,  and  Harry, 
rapping  on  the  table,  called  for  wine ;  mentioning  some 
curious  foreign  name. 

The  decanter,  filled  with  a  pale  yellow  wine,  being  placed 
before  us,  and  my  comrade  having  drunk  a  few  glasses ;  he 
whispered  me  to  remain  where  I  was,  while  he  withdrew 
for  a  moment. 

I  saw  him  advance  to  the  turret-like  place,  and  exchange 
a  confidential  word  with  the  almond  tree  there,  who  imme 
diately  looked  very  much  surprised, — I  thought,  a  little  dis 
concerted, — and  then  disappeared  with  him. 

While  my  friend  was  gone,  I  occupied  myself  with  looking 
around  me,  and  striving  to  appear  as  indifferent  as  possible, 
and  as  much  used  to  all  this  splendor  as  if  I  had  been  born 
in  it.  But,  to  tell  the  truth,  my  head  was  almost  dizzy 
with  the  strangeness  of  the  sight,  and  the  thought  that  I 
was  really  in  London.  What  would  my  brother  have  said  ? 
What  would  Tom  Legare,  the  treasurer  of  the  Juvenile 
Temperance  Society,  have  thought  ? 

But  I  almost  began  to  fancy  I  had  no  friends  and  relatives 
living  in  a  little  village  three  thousand  five  hundred  miles 
off,  in  America;  for  it  was  hard  to 'unite  such  a  humble 
reminiscence  with  the  splendid  animation  of  the  London-like 
scene  around  me. 

And  in  the  delirium  of  the  moment,  I  began  to  indulge 
in  foolish  golden  visions  of  the  counts  and  countesses  to 
whom  Harry  might  introduce  me ;  and  every  instant  I  ex 
pected  to  hear  the  waiters  addressing  some  gentleman  as 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  289 

"My  Lord"  or  "Your  Grace."  But  if  there  were  really 
any  lords  present,  the  waiters  omitted  their  titles,  at  least  in 
my  hearing. 

Mixed  with  these  thoughts  were  confused  visions  of  St. 
Paul's  and  the  Strand,  which  I  determined  to  visit  the  very 
next  morning,  before  breakfast,  or  perish  in  the  attempt. 
And  I  even  longed  for  Harry's  return,  that  we  might  imme 
diately  sally  out  into  the  street,  and  see  some  of  the  sights, 
before  the  shops  were  all  closed  for  the  night. 

While  I  thus  sat  alone,  I  observed  one  of  the  waiters 
eying  me  a  little  impertinently,  as  I  thought,  and  as  if 
he  saw  something  queer  about  me.  So  I  tried  to  as 
sume  a  careless  and  lordly  air,  and  by  way  of  helping  the 
thing,  threw  one  leg  over  the  other,  like  a  young  Prince 
Esterhazy ;  but  all  the  time  I  felt  my  face  burning  with 
embarrassment,  and  for  the  time,  I  must  have  looked  very 
guilty  of  something.  But  spite  of  this,  I  kept  looking  boldly 
out  of  my  eyes,  and  straight  through  my  blushes,  and  ob 
served  that  every  now  and  then  little  parties  were  made  up 
among  the  gentlemen,  and  they  retired  into  the  rear  of  the 
house,  as  if  going  to  a  private  apartment.  And  I  overheard 
one  of  them  drop  the  word  Rouge ;  but  he  could  not  have 
used  rouge,  for  his  face  was  exceedingly  pale.  Another  said 
something  about  Loo. 

At  last  Harry  came  back,  his  face  rather  flushed. 

"  Come  along,  Redburn,"  said  he. 

So  making  no  doubt  we  were  off  for  a  ramble,  perhaps  to 
Apsley  House,  in  the  Park,  to  get  a  sly  peep  at  the  old 
Duke  before  he  retired  for  the  night,  for  Harry  had  told  me 
the  Duke  always  went  to  bed  early,  I  sprang  up  to  follow 
him  ;  but  what  was  my  disappointment  and  surprise,  when 
he  only  led  me  into  the  passage,  toward  a  staircase  lighted 
by  three  marble  Graces,  unitedly  holding  a  broad  candelabra, 
like  an  elk's  antlers,  over  the  landing. 

We  rambled  up  the  long,  winding  slope  of  those  aristo 
cratic  stairs,  every  step  of  which,  covered  with  Turkey  rugs, 

N 


290  REDBURN: 


looked  gorgeous  as  the  hammer-cloth  of  the  Lord  Mayor's 
coach ;  and  Harry  hied  straight  to  a  rosewood  door,  which, 
on  magical  hinges,  sprang  softly  open  to  his  touch. 

As  we  entered  the  room,  methought  I  was  slowly  sinking 
in  some  reluctant,  sedgy  sea ;  so  thick  and  elastic  the  Persian 
carpeting,  mimicking  parterres  of  tulips,  and  roses,  and  jon 
quils,  like  a  bower  in  Babylon. 

Long  lounges  lay  carelessly  disposed,  whose  fine  damask 
was  interwoven,  like  the  Gobelin  tapestry,  with  pictorial 
tales  of  tilt  and  tourney.  And  oriental  ottomans,  whose 
cunning  warp  and  woof  were  wrought  into  plaited  serpents, 
undulating  beneath  beds  of  leaves,  from  which,  here  and 
there,  they  flashed  out  sudden  splendors  of  green  scales  and 
gold. 

In  the  broad  bay  windows,  as  the  hollows  of  King  Charles' 
oaks,  were  Laocoon-like  chairs,  in  the  antique  taste,  draped 
with  heavy  fringes  of  bullion  and  silk. 

The  walls,  covered  with  a  sort  of  tartan-French  paper, 
ariegated  with  bars  of  velvet,  were  hung  round  with  mytho 
logical  oil-paintings,  suspended  by  tasseled  cords  of  twisted 
silver  and  blue. 

They  were  such  pictures  as  the  high-priests,  for  a  bribe, 
ehowed  to  Alexander  in  the  innermost  shrine  of  the  white 
temple  in  the  Libyan  oasis  :  such  pictures  as  the  pontiff  of 
the  sun  strove  to  hide  from  Cortez,  when,  sword  in  hand,  he 
burst  open  the  sanctorum  of  the  pyramid-fane  at  Cholula  : 
such  pictures  as  you  may  still  see,  perhaps,  in  the  central 
alcove  of  the  excavated  mansion  of  Pansa,  in  Pompeii — in 
that  part  of  it  called  by  Varro  the  hollow  of  the  house :  such 
pictures  as  Martial  and  Seutonius  mention  as  being  found  in 
the  private  cabinet  of  the  Emperor  Tiberius  :  such  pictures 
as  are  delineated  on  the  bronze  medals,  tc  this  day  dug  up 
on  the  ancient  island  of  Capreae  :  such  pi  jtures  as  you  might 
have  beheld  in  an  arched  recess,  leading  from  the  left  hand 
of  the  secret  side-gallery  of  the  temple  of  Aphrodite  in 
Corinth. 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  291 

In-  the  principal  pier  was  a  marble  bracket,  sculptured  in 
the  semblance  of  a  dragon's  crest,  and  supporting  a  bust, 
most  wonderful  to  behold.  It  was  that  of  a  bald-headed  old 
man,  with  a  mysteriously-wicked  expression,  and  imposing 
silence  by  one  thin  finger  over  his  lips.  His  marble  mouth 
seemed  tremulous  with  secrets. 

"  Sit  down,  Wellingborough,"  said  Harry  ;  "  don't  be 
frightened,  we  are  at  home. — Ring  the  bell,  will  you  ? 
But  stop ;" — and  advancing  to  the  mysterious  bust,  he 
whispered  something  in  its  ear. 

"  He's  a  knowing  mute,  Wellingborough,"  said  he;  "who 
stays  in  this  one  place  all  the  time,  while  he  is  yet  running 
of  errands.  But  mind  you  don't  breathe  any  secrets  in  his 
ear." 

In  obedience  to  a  summons  so  singularly  conveyed,  to  my 
amazement  a  servant  almost  instantly  appeared,  standing 
transfixed  in  the  attitude  of  a  bow. 

"  Cigars,"  said  Harry.  When  they  came,  he  drew  up  a 
small  table  into  the  middle  of  the  room,  and  lighting  his 
cigar,  bade  me  follow  his  example,  and  make  myself 
happy. 

Almost  transported  with  such  princely  quarters,  so  un 
dreamed  of  before,  while  leading  my  dog's  life  in  the  filthy 
forecastle  of  the  Highlander,  I  twirled  round  a  chair,  and 
seated  myself  opposite  my  friend. 

But  all  the  time,  I  felt  ill  at  heart ;  and  was  filled  with 
an  under  current  of  dismal  forebodings.  But  I  strove  to 
dispel  them ;  and  turning  to  my  companion,  exclaimed, 
"  And  pray,  do  you  live  here,  Harry,  in  this  Palace  of 
Aladdin  ?" 

"  Upon  my  soul,"  he  cried,  "  you  have  hit  it : — you  must 
have  been  here  before  !  Aladdin's  Palace  !  Why,  Welling 
borough,  it  goes  by  that  very  name." 

Then  he  laughed  strangely  :  and  for  the  first  time,  I 
thought  he  had  been  quaffing  too  freely :  yet,  though  he 
looked  wildly  from  his  eyes,  his  general  carriage  was  firm. 


292  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


"  Who  are  you  looking  at  so  hard,  Wellingborough?" 
said  he. 

"  I  am  afraid,  Harry,"  said  I,  "  that  when  you  left  me 
just  now,  you  must  have  been  drinking  something  stronger 
than  wine." 

"  Hear  him  now,"  said  Harry,  turning  round,  as  if  ad 
dressing  the  bald-headed  bust  on  the  bracket, — "a  parson 
'pon  honor  ! — -But  remark  you,  Wellingborough,  my  boy,  I 
must  leave  you  again,  and  for  a  considerably  longer  time 
than  before  : — I  may  not  be  back  again  to-night." 

«  What  ?"  said  I. 

"  Be  still,"  he  cried,  "hear  me,  I  know  the  old  duke  here, 
and—" 

"  Who  ?  not  the  Duke  of  Wellington,"  said  I,  wondering 
whether  Harry  was  really  going  to  include  him  too,  in  his 
long  list  of  confidential  friends  and  acquaintances. 

"Pooh!"  cried  Harry,  "I  mean  the  white-whiskered  old 
man  you  saw  below ;  they  call  him  the  Duke : — he  keeps 
the  house.  I  say,  I  know  him  well,  and  he  knows  me; 
and  he  knows  what  brings  me  here,  also.  Well ;  we  have 
arranged  every  thing  about  you ;  you  are  to  stay  in  this 
room,  and  sleep  here  to-night,  and — and — "  continued  he, 
speaking  low— "  you  must  guard  this  letter — "  slipping  a 
sealed  one  into  my  hand — "  and,  if  I  am  not  back  by  morn 
ing,  you  must  post  right  on  to  Bury,  and  leave  the  letter 
there ;— here,  take  this  paper — it's  all  set  down  here  in 
black  and  white — where  you  are  to  go,  and  what  you  are 
to  do.  And  after  that's  done — mind,  this  is  all  in  case  I 
don't  return — then  you  may  do  what  you  please  :  stay  here 
in  London  awhile,  or  go  back  to  Liverpool.  And  here's 
enough  to  pay  all  your  expenses." 

All  this  was  a  thunder  stroke.  I  thought  Harry  was 
crazy.  I  held  the  purse  in  my  motionless  hand,  and  stared 
at  him,  till  the  tears  almost  started  from  my  eyes. 

"  What's  the  matter,  Redburn  ?"  he  cried,  with  a  wild 
sort  of  laugh — «  you  are  not  afraid  of  me,  are  you  ? — No, 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  293 

no  !  I  believe  in  you,  my  boy,  or  you  would  not  hold  that 
purse  in  your  hand  ;  no,  nor  that  letter." 

"  What  in  heaven's  name  do  you  mean  ?"  at  last  I  ex 
claimed,  "  you  don't  really  intend  to  desert  me  in  this  strange 
place,  do  you,  Harry  ?"  and  I  snatched  him  by  the  hand. 

"  Pooh,  pooh,"  he  cried,  "  let  me  go.  I  tell  you,  it's  all 
right :  do  as  I  say  :  that's  all.  Promise  me  now,  will  you  ? 
Swear  it ! — no,  no,"  he  added,  vehemently,  as  I  conjured 
him  to  tell  me  more — "  no,  I  won't :  I  have  nothing  more 
to  tell  you — not  a  word.  Will  you  swear  ?" 

"  But  one  sentence  more  for  your  own  sake,  Harry:  hear 
me!" 

"Not  a  syllable  !  Will  you  swear? — you  will  not?  then 
here,  give  me  that  purse  : — there — there — take  that — and 
that — and  that ; — that  will  pay  your  fare  back  to  Liverpool ; 
good-by  to  you  :  you  are  not  my  friend,"  and  he  wheeled 
round  his  back. 

I  know  not  what  flashed  through  my  mind,  but  something 
suddenly  impelled  me  ;  and  grasping  his  hand,  I  swore  to 
him  what  he  demanded. 

Immediately  he  ran  to  the  bust,  whispered  a  word,  and 
the  white -whiskered  old  man  appeared  :  whom  he  clapped 
on  the  shoulder,  and  then  introduced  me  as  his  friend — young 
Lord  Stormont ;  and  bade  the  almond  tree  look  well  to  the 
comforts  of  his  lordship,  while  he — Harry — was  gone. 

The  almond  tree  blandly  bowed,  and  grimaced,  with  a 
peculiar  expression,  that  I  hated  on  the  spot.  After  a  few 
words  more,  he  withdrew.  Harry  then  shook  my  hand 
heartily,  and  without  giving  me  a  chance  to  say  one  word, 
seized  his  cap,  and  darted  out  of  the  room,  saying,  "  Leave 
not  this  room  to-night ;  and  remember  the  letter,  and  Bury !" 

I  fell  into  a  chair,  and  gazed  round  at  the  strange- looking 
walls  and  mysterious  pictures,  and  up  to  the  chandelier  at 
the  ceiling ;  then  rose,  and  opened  the  door,  and  looked  down 
the  lighted  passage  ;  but  only  heard  the  hum  from  the  room 
ful  below,  scattered  voices,  and  a  hushed  ivory  rattling  from 


294  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


the  closed  apartments  adjoining.  I  stepped  back  into  the 
room,  and  a  terrible  revulsion  came  over  me  ;  I  would  have 
given  the  world  had  I  been  safe  back  in  Liverpool,  fast 
asleep  in  my  old  bunk  in  Prince's  Dock. 

I  shuddered  at  every  footfall,  and  almost  thought  it  must 
be  some  assassin  pursuing  me.  The  whole  place  seemed 
infected  ;  and  a  strange  thought  came  over  me,  that  in  the 
very  damasks  around,  some  eastern  plague  had  been  import 
ed.  And  was  that  pale  yellow  wine,  that  I  drank  below, 
drugged  ?  thought  I.  This  must  be  some  house  whose 
foundations  take  hold  on  the  pit.  But  these  fearful  reveries 
only  enchanted  me  fast  to  my  chair ;  so  that,  though  I  then 
wished  to  rush  forth  from  the  house,  my  limbs  seemed 
manacled. 

While  thus  chained  to  my  seat,  something  seemed  sud 
denly  flung  open  ;  a  confused  sound  of  imprecations,  mixed 
with  the  ivory  rattling,  louder  than  before,  burst  upon  my 
ear,  and  through  the  partly  open  door  of  the  room  where 
I  was,  I  caught  sight  of  a  tall,  frantic  man,  with  clenched 
hands,  wildly  darting  through  the  passage,  toward  the 
stairs. 

And  all  the  while,  Harry  ran  through  my  soul — in  and 
out,  at  every  door,  that  burst  open  to  his  vehement  rush. 

At  that  moment  my  whole  acquaintance  with  him  passed 
like  lightning  through  my  mind,  till  I  asked  myself  why  he 
had  come  here,  to  London,  to  do  this  thing  ? — why  would 
not  Liverpool  have  answered  ?  and  what  did  he  want  of 
me  ?  But,  every  way,  his  conduct  was  unaccountable. 
From  the  hour  he  had  accosted  me  on  board  the  ship,  his 
manner  seemed  gradually  changed ;  and  from  the  moment 
we  had  sprung  into  the  cab,  he  had  seemed  almost  another 
person  from  what  he  had  seemed  before. 

But  what  could  I  do  ?  He  was  gone,  that  was  certain  ; 
— would  he  ever  come  back  ?  But  he  might  still  be  some 
where  in  the  house  ;  and  with  a  shudder,  I  thought  of  that 
ivory  rattling,  and  was  almost  ready  to  dart  forth,  search 


HIS   FIRST   VOYAGE.  295 

every  room,  and  save  him.  But  that  would  be  madness, 
and  I  had  sworn  not  to  do  so.  There  seemed  nothing  left, 
but  to  await  his  return.  Yet,  if  he  did  not  return,  what 
then  ?  I  took  out  the  purse,  and  counted  over  the  money, 
and  looked  at  the  letter  and  paper  of  memoranda. 

Though  I  vividly  remember  it  all,  I  will  not  give  the 
superscription  of  the  letter,  nor  the  contents  of  the  paper. 
But  after  I  had  looked  at  them  attentively,  and  considered 
that  Harry  could  have  no  conceivable  object  in  deceiving 
me,  I  thought  to  myself,  Yes,  he's  in  earnest ;  and  here  I 
am — yes,  even  in  London  !  And  here  in  this  room  will  I 
stay,  come  what  will.  I  will  implicitly  follow  his  directions, 
and  so  see  out  the  last  of  this  thing. 

But  spite  of  these  thoughts,  and  spite  of  the  metropolitan 
magnificence  around  me,  I  was  mysteriously  alive  to  a 
dreadful  feeling,  which  I  had  never  before  felt,  except  when 
penetrating  into  the  lowest  and  most  squalid  haunts  of  sailor 
iniquity  in  Liverpool.  All  the  mirrors  and  marbles  around 
me  seemed  crawling  over  with  lizards  ;  and  I  thought  to 
myself,  that  though  gilded  and  golden,  the  serpent  of  vice  is 
a  serpent  still. 

It  was  now  grown  very  late ;  and  faint  with  excitement, 
I  threw  myself  upon  a  lounge ;  but  for  some  time  tossed 
about  restless,  in  a  sort  of  night-mare.  Every  few  moments, 
spite  of  my  oath,  I  was  upon  the  point  of  starting  up, 
and  rushing  into  the  street,  to  inquire  where  I  was ;  but  re 
membering  Harry's  injunctions,  and  my  own  ignorance  of 
the  town,  and  that  it  was  now  so  late,  I  again  tried  to  be 
composed. 

At  last,  I  fell  asleep,  dreaming  about  Harry  fighting  a 
duel  of  dice-boxes  with  the  military-looking  man  below ; 
and  the  next  thing  I  knew,  was  the  glare  of  a  light  before 
my  eyes,  and  Harry  himself,  very  pale,  stood  before  me. 

"  The  letter  and  paper,"  he  cried. 

I  fumbled  in  my  pockets,  and  handed  them  to  him. 

"There!    there!    there!    thus  I  tear    you."    he    cried. 


296  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


wrenching  the  letter  to  pieces  with  both  hands  like  a  mad 
man,  and  stamping  upon  the  fragments.  "  I  am  off  fo? 
America ;  the  game  is  up." 

"  For  God's  sake  explain,"  said  I,  now  utterly  bewildered; 
and  frightened.  "  Tell  me,  Harry,  what  is  it  ?  You  have 
not  been  gambling  ?" 

"  Ha,  ha,"  he  deliriously  laughed.  "  Gambling  ?  red 
and  white,  you  mean  ? — cards  ? — dice  ? — the  bones  ? — Ha, 
ha  !" — Gambling  ?  gambling  ?"  he  ground  out  between  his 
teeth — "  what  two  devilish,  stiletto-sounding  syllables  they 
are  !" 

"  Wellingborough,"  he  added,  marching  up  to  me  slowly, 
but  with  his  eyes  blazing  into  mine — "  Wellingborough" — 
and  fumbling  in  his  breast-pocket,  he  drew  forth  a  dirk — 
"  Here,  Wellingborough,  take  it — take  it,  I  say — are  you 
stupid? — there,  there" — and  he  pushed  it  into  my  hands. 
"  Keep  it  away  from  me — keep  it  out  of  my  sight — I  don't 
want  it  near  me,  while  I  feel  as  I  do.  They  serve  suicides 
scurvily  here,  Wellingborough ;  they  don't  bury  them  de 
cently.  See  that  bell-rope  !  By  Heaven,  it's  an  invitation 
to  hang  myself" — and  seizing  it  by  the  gilded  handle  at  the 
end,  he  twitched  it  down  from  the  wall. 

"  In  God's  name,  what  ails  you  ?"  I  cried. 

"  Nothing,  oh  nothing,"  said  Harry,  now  assuming  a 
treacherous,  tropical  calmness — "  nothing,  Redburn  ;  noth 
ing  in  the  world.  I'm  the  serenest  of  men." 

"  But  give  me  that  dirk,"  he  suddenly  cried — "  let  me 
have  it,  I  say.  Oh  !  I  don't  mean  to  murder  myself — I'm 
past  that  now — give  it  me" — and  snatching  it  from  my 
hand,  he  flung  down  an  empty  purse,  and  with  a  terrific 
stab,  nailed  it  fast  with  the  dirk  to  the  table. 

"  There  now,"  he  cried,  "  there's  something  for  the  old 
duke  to  see  to-rnorrow  morning ;  that's  about  all  that's  left 
of  me — that's  my  skeleton,  Wellingborough.  But  come, 
don't  be  down-hearted ;  there's  a  little  more  gold  yet  in 
Golconda;  I  have  a  guinea  or  two  left.  Don't  stare  so, 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  297 

ray  boy  ;  we  shall  be  in  Liverpool  to-morrow  night ;  we 
start  in  the  morning" — and  turning  his  back,  he  began  to 
whistle  very  fiercely. 

"  And  this,  then,"  said  I,  "is  your  showing  me  London, 
is  it,  Harry  ?  I  did  not  think  this  ;  but  tell  me  your  secret, 
whatever  it  is,  and  I  will  not  regret  not  seeing  the  town." 

He  turned  round  upon  me  like  lightning,  and  cried,  "Red- 
burn  !  you  must  swear  another  oath,  and  instantly." 

"  And  why  ?"  said  I,  in  alarm,  "  what  more  would  you 
have  me  swear  ?" 

"  Never  to  question  me  again  about  this  infernal  trip  to 
London  !"  he  shouted,  with  the  foam  at  his  lips — "  never  to 
breathe  it !  swear  !" 

"  I  certainly  shall  not  trouble  you,  Harry,  with  questions, 
if  you  do  not  desire  it,"  said  I,  "but  there's  no  need  of 
swearing." 

"  Swear  jit,  I  say,  as  you  love  me,  Redburn,"  he  added, 
imploringly. 

"  Well,  then,  I  solemnly  do.  Now  lie  down,  and  let  us 
forget  ourselves  as  soon  as  we  can ;  for  me,  you  have  made 
me  the  most  miserable  dog  alive." 

"  And  what  am  I  ?"  cried  Harry  ;  "  but  pardon  me, 
Redburn,  I  did  not  mean  to  offend  ;  if  you  knew  all — but 
no,  no  ! — never  mind,  never  mind  !"  And  he  ran  to  the 
bust,  and  whispered  in  its  ear.  A  waiter  came. 

"  Brandy,"  whispered  Harry,  with  clenched  teeth. 

"  Are  you  not  going  to  sleep,  then  ?"  said  I,  more  and 
more  alarmed  at  his  wildness,  and  fearful  of  the  effects  of 
his  drinking  still  more,  in  such  a  mood. 

"  No  sleep  for  me  !  sleep  if  you  can — /  mean  to  sit  up 
with  a  decanter  ! — let  me  see" — looking  at  the  ormolu  clock 
on  the  mantel — "  it's  only  two  hours  to  morning." 

The  waiter,  looking  very  sleepy,  and  with  a  green  shade 
on  his  brow,  appeared  with  the  decanter  and  glasses  on  a 
salver,  and  was  told  to  leave  it  and  depart. 

Seeing  that  Harry  was  not  to  be  moved,  I  once  more 

N* 


298  REDBURN: 


threw  myself  on  the  lounge.  I  did  not  sleep  ;  but,  like  a 
somnambulist,  only  dozed  now  and  then  ;  starting  from  my 
dreams  ;  while  Harry  sat,  with  his  hat  on,  at  the  table ;  the 
brandy  before  him ;  from  which  he  occasionally  poured  into 
his  glass.  Instead  of  exciting  him,  however,  to  my  amaze 
ment,  the  spirits  seemed  to  soothe  him  down ;  and,  ere  long, 
he  was  comparatively  calm. 

At  last,  just  as  I  had  fallen  into  a  deep  sleep,  I  was 
wakened  by  his  shaking  me,  and  saying  our  cab  was  at  the 
door. 

"  Look !  it  is  broad  day,"  said  he,  brushing  aside  the  heavy 
hangings  of  the  window. 

We  left  the  room ;  and  passing  through  the  now  silent 
and  deserted  hall  of  pillars,  which,  at  this  hour,  reeked  as 
with  blended  roses  and  cigar-stumps  decayed  ;  a  dumb  waiter, 
rubbing  his  eyes,  flung  open  the  street  door ;  we  sprung  into 
the  cab  ;  and  soon  found  ourselves  whirled  along  northward 
by  railroad,  toward  Prince's  Dock  and  the  Highlander. 


CHAPTER  XL VII. 

HOMEWARD-BOUND. 

V         ...  , 

ONCE  more  in  Liverpool ;  and  wending  my  way  through 
the  same  old  streets  to  the  sign  of  the  Golden  Anchor ;  1 
could  scarcely  credit  the  events  of  the  last  thirty-six  hours. 

So  unforeseen  had  been  our  departure  in  the  first  place  ; 
so  rapid  our  journey ;  so  unaccountable  the  conduct  of 
Harry  ;  and  so  sudden  our  return  ;  that  all  united  to  over 
whelm  me.  That  I  had  been  at  all  in  London  seemed 
impossible  ;  and  that  I  had  been  there,  and  come  away 
little  the  wiser,  was  almost  distracting  to  one  who,  like  me, 
had  so  longed  to  behold  that  metropolis  of  marvels. 

I  looked  hard  at  Harry  as  he  walked  in  silence  at  my 
side  ;  I  stared  at  the  houses  we  passed ;  I  thought  of  the 
cab,  the  gas-lighted  hall  in  the  Palace  of  Aladdin,  the  pic 
tures,  the  letter,  the  oath,  the  dirk  ;  the  mysterious  place 
where  all  these  mysteries  had  occurred ;  and  then,  was 
almost  ready  to  conclude,  that  the  pale  yellow  wine  had 
been  drugged.  ^ 

As  for  Harry,  stuffing  his  false  whiskers  and  mustache 
into  his  pocket,  he  now  led  the  way  to  the  boarding-house  ; 
and  saluting  the^landlady,  was  shown  to  his  room  ;  where 
we  immediately  shifted  our  clothes,  appearing  once  more  in 
our  sailor  habiliments. 

"  Wel.1,  what  do  yoiufrBpose  to  do  now,  Harry?"  said  I, 
with  a  heavy  heart. 

"  Why,  visit  your  Yankee  land  in  the  Highlander,  of 
course — what  else  ?"  he  replied. 

"  And  is  it  to  be  a  visit,  or  a  long  stay  ?"  asked  I. 

"That's  as  it  may  turn  out,"' said  Harry;  "but  I  have 


300  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


now  more  than  ever  resolved  upon  the  sea.  There  is  nothing 
like  the  sea  for  a  fellow  like  me,  Redburn  ;  a  desperate  man 
can  not  get  any  further  than  the  wharf,  you  know ;  and  the 
next  step  must  be  a  long  jump.  But  come,  let's  see  what 
they  have  to  eat  here,  and  then  for  a  cigar  and  a  stroll.  I 
feel  better  already.  Never  say  die,  is  my  motto." 

We  went  to  supper  ;  after  that,  sallied  out ;  and  walking 
along  the  quay^of  Prince's  Dock,  heard  that  the  ship  High 
lander  had  ihjMmornmg  been  advertised  to  sail  in  two  days' 

"  ^flllj^^xclaimed  Harry  ;  and  I  was  glad  enough  my- 
selfr  ** 

Although  I  had  now  been  absent  from  the  ship  full  forty- 
eight  hours,  and  intended  to  return  to  her,  yet  I  did  not 
anticipate  being  called  to  any  severe  account  for  it  from'ithe 
officers ;  for  several  of  our  men  had  absented  themselves  - 
longer  than  I  had,  and  upon  their  return,  little  or  nothing 
was  said  to  them.  Indeed,  in  some  cases,  the  mate  seemed  , 
to  know  nothing  about  it.  During  the  whole  time  we  lay 
in  Liverpool,  the  discipline  of  the  ship  was  altogether  re 
laxed  ;  and  I  could  hardly  believe  they  were  the  same 
officers  who  were  so  dictatorial  at  sea.  The  reason  of  this 
was,  that  we  had  nothing  important  to  do  ;  and  although 
the  captain  might  now  legally  refuse  to  receive  me  on  board, 
yet  I  was  not  afraid  of  that,  as  I  was  as  stout  a  lad  for  my 
yea*,  and  worked  as  cheap,  as  any  one  he  could  engage  to 
take  my  place  on  the  homeward  passage. 

Ne^t  morning  we  made  our  -appearance  on  board  before 
thejrest  of  the  crew  ;  and  the  mate  perceiving  me,  said  with 
an  oatli,  "  Well,  sir,  /ou  have  thought  best  to  return  then, 
have  you  ?  Captain  Riga  and  I  were  flattering  ourselves 
that  you  had  made  a  run  of  it  for  good." 

Then,  thought  I,  the  captain,  who  seems  to  affect  to  know 
nothing  of  the  proceedings  of  the  sailors,  has  been  aware  of 
my  absence. 

"  But  turn  to,  sir,  turn,  to,"  added  the  mate ;   « here  ! 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  301 


aloft  there,  and  free  that  pennant ;  it's  foul  of  the  back-stay 
— -jump  !" 

The  captain  coming  on  board  soon  after,  looked  very  be 
nevolently  at  Harry  ;  but,  as  usual,  pretended  not  to  take 
the  slightest  notice  of  myself. 

We  were  all  now  very  busy  in  getting  things  ready  for 
sea.  The  cargo  had  been  already  stowed  in  the  hold  by  the 
stevedores  and  lumpers  from  shore  ;  but  it  became  the  crew's 
business  to  clear  away  the  between-decks,  extending  from  the 
cabin  bulkhead  to  the  forecastle,  for  the  reception  of  about 
five  hundred  emigrants,  some  of  whose  boxes  were  already 
littering  the  decks. 

To  provide  for  their  wants,  a  far  larger  supply  of  water 
was  needed  than  upon  the  outward-bound  passage.  Accord 
ingly,  besides  the  usual  number  of  casks  on  deck,  rows  of 
immense  tierces  were  lashed  amid-ships,  all  along  the  between- 
decks,  forming  a  sort  of  aisle  on  each  side,  furnishing  access 
to  four  rows  of  bunks, — three  tiers,  one  above  another, — 
against  the  ship's  sides ;  two  tiers  being  placed  over  the 
tierces  of  water  in  the  middle.  These  bunks  were  rapidly 
knocked  together  with  coarse  planks.  They  looked  more 
like  dog-kennels  than  any  thing  else  ;  especially  as  the  place 
was  so  gloomy  and  dark ;  no  light  coming  down  except 
through  the  fore  and  after  hatchways,  both  of  which  were 
covered  with  little  houses  called  "  booby -Jiatches"  Upon  the 
main-hatches,  which  were  well  calked  and  covered  over 
with  heavy  tarpaulins,  the  "  passengers' -galley"  was  solidly 
lashed  down. 

This  galley  was  a  large  open  stove,  or  iron  range — made 
expressly  for  emigrant  ships,  wholly  unprotected  from  the 
weather,  and  where  alone  the  emigrants  are  permitted  to 
cook  their  food  while  at  sea. 

After  two  days'  work,  every  thing  was  in  readiness  ;  most 
of  the  emigrants  on  board  ;  and  in  the  evening  we  worked  the 
ship  close  into  the  outlet  of  Prince's  Dock,  with  the  bow  against 
the  water-gate,  to  go  out  with  the  tide  in  the  morning. 


302  RED  BURN: 


In  the  morning,  the  bustle  and  confusion  about  us  was 
indescribable.  Added  to  the  ordinary  clamor  of  the  docks, 
was  the  hurrying  to  and  fro  of  our  five  hundred  emigrants, 
the  last  of  whom,  with  their  baggage,  were  now  coming  on 
board  ;  the  appearance  of  the  cabin  passengers,  following 
porters  with  their  trunks  ;  the  loud  orders  of  the  dock- 
masters,  ordering  the  various  ships  behind  us  to  preserve 
their  order  of  going  out ;  the  leave-takings,  and  good-by's, 
and  God-bless-you's,  between  the  emigrants  and  their  friends; 
and  the  cheers  of  the  surrounding  ships. 

At  this  time  we  lay  in  such  a  way,  that  no  one  could 
board  us  except  by  the  bowsprit,  which  overhung  the  quay. 
Staggering  along  that  bowsprit,  now  came  a  one-eyed  crimp, 
leading  a  drunken  tar  by  the  collar,  who  had  been  shipped 
to  sail  with  us  the  day  previous.  It  has  been  stated  before, 
that  two  or  three  of  our  men  had  left  us  for  good,  while  in 
port.  When  the  crimp  had  got  this  man  and  another  safely 
lodged  in  a  bunk  below,  he  returned  on  shore  ;  and  going  to 
a  miserable  cab,  pulled  out  still  another  apparently  drunken 
fellow,  who  proved  completely  helpless.  However,  the  ship 
now  swinging  her  broadside  more  toward  the  quay,  this  stu 
pefied  sailor,  with  a  Scotch  cap  pulled  down  over  his  closed 
eyes,  only  revealing  a  sallow  Portuguese  complexion,  was 
lowered  on  board  by  a  rope  under  his  arms,  and  passed  for 
ward  by  the  crew,  who  put  him  likewise  into  a  bunk  in  the 
forecastle,  the  crimp  himself  carefully  tucking  him  in,  and 
bidding  the  bystanders  not  to  disturb  him  till  the  ship  was 
away  from  the  land. 

This  done,  the  confusion  increased,  as  we  now  glided  out 
of  the  dock.  Hats  and  handkerchiefs  were  waved  ;  hurrahs 
were  exchanged ;  and  tears  were  shed ;  and  the  last  thing  I 
saw,  as  we  shot  into  the  stream,  was  a  policeman  collaring 
a  boy,  and  walking  him  off  to  the  guard-house. 

A  steam-tug,  the  Goliath,  now  took  us  by  the  arm,  and 
gallanted  us  down  the  river  past  the  fort. 

The  scene  was  most  striking. 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE. 


Owing  to  a  strong  breeze,  which  had  been  blowing  up 
the  river  for  four  days  past,  holding  wind-bound  in  the 
various  docks  a  multitude  of  ships  for  all  parts  of  the  world ; 
there  was  now  under  weigh,  a  vast  fleet  of  merchantmen, 
all  steering  broad  out  to  sea.  The  white  sails  glistened  in 
the  clear  morning  air  like  a  great  Eastern  encampment  of 
sultans  ;  and  from  many  a  forecastle,  came  the  deep  mellow 
old  song  Ho-o-he-yo,  cheerily  men  !  as  the  crews  catted  their 
anchors. 

The  wind  was  fair  ;  the  weather  mild  ;  the  sea  most 
smooth  ;  and  the  poor  emigrants  were  in  high  spirits  at  so 
auspicious  a  beginning  of  their  voyage.  They  were  reclining 
all  over  the  decks,  talking  of  soon  seeing  America,  and  re 
lating  how  the  agent  had  told  them,  that  twenty  days  would 
be  an  uncommonly  long  voyage. 

Here  it  must  be  mentioned,  that  owing  to  the  great  num 
ber  of  ships  sailing  to  the  Yankee  ports  from  Liverpool,  the 
competition  among  them  in  obtaining  emigrant  passengers, 
who  as  a  cargo  are  much  more  remunerative  than  crates 
and  bales,  is  exceedingly  great ;  so  much  so,  that  some  of 
the  agents  they  employ,  do  not  scruple  to  deceive  the  poor 
applicants  for  passage,  with  all  manner  of  fables  concerning 
the  short  space  of  time,  in  which  their  ships  make  the  run 
across  the  ocean. 

This  often  induces  the  emigrants  to  provide  a  much 
smaller  stock  of  provisions  than  they  otherwise  would  ;  the 
effect  of  which  sometimes  proves  to  be  in  the  last  degree 
lamentable ;  as  will  be  seen  further  on.  And  though  benev 
olent  societies  have  been  long  organized  in  Liverpool,  for  the 
purpose  of  keeping  offices,  where  the  emigrants  can  obtain, 
reliable  information  and  advice,  concerning  their  best  mode 
of  embarkation,  and  other  matters  interesting  to  them  ;  and 
though  the  English  authorities  have  imposed  a  law,  providing 
that  every  captain  of  an  emigrant  ship  bound  for  any  port 
of  America  shall  see  to  it,  that  each  passenger  is  provided 
with  rations  of  food  for  sixty  days ;  yet,  all  this  has  not 


304  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


deterred  mercenary  ship-masters  and  unprincipled  agents 
from  practicing  the  grossest  deception ;  nor  exempted  the 
emigrants  themselves  from  the  very  sufferings  intended  to  be 
averted. 

No  sooner  had  we  fairly  gained  the  expanse  of  the  Irish 
Sea,  and,  one  by  one,  lost  sight  of  our  thousand  consorts,  than 
the  weather  changed  into  the  most  miserably  cold,  wet,  and 
cheerless  days  and  nights  imaginable.  The  wind  was  tem 
pestuous,  and  dead  in  our  teeth  ;  and  the  hearts  of  the 
emigrants  fell.  Nearly  all  of  them  had  now  hied  below,  to 
escape  the  uncomfortable  and  perilous  decks  :  and  from  the 
two  "  booby-hatches"  came  the  steady  hum  of  a  subterranean 
wailing  and  weeping.  That  irresistible  wrestler,  sea-sick 
ness,  had  overthrown  the  stoutest  of  their  number,  and  the 
women  and  children  were  embracing  and  sobbing  in  all  the 
agonies  of  the  poor  emigrant's  first  storrn  at  sea. 

Bad  enough  is  it  at  such  times  with  ladies  and  gentlemen 
in  the  cabin,  who  have  nice  little  state-rooms ;  and  plenty 
of  privacy  ;  and  stewards  to  run  for  them  at  a  word,  and 
put  pillows  under  their  heads,  and  tenderly  inquire  how  they 
are  getting  along,  and  mix  them  a  posset :  and  even  then, 
in  the  abandonment  of  this  soul  and  body  subduing  malady, 
such  ladies  and  gentlemen  will  often  give  up  life  itself  as 
unendurable,  and  put  up  the  most  pressing  petitions  for  a 
speedy  annihilation  ;  all  of  which,  however,  only  arises  from 
their  intense  anxiety  to  preserve  their  valuable  lives. 

How,  then,  with  the  friendless  emigrants,  stowed  away 
like  bales  of  cotton,  and  packed  like  slaves  in  a  slave-ship  ; 
confined  in  a  place  that,  during  storm  time,  must  be  closed 
against  both  light  and  air  ;  who  can  do  no  cooking,  nor 
warm  so  much  as  a  cup  of  water ;  for  the  drenching  seas 
would  instantly  flood  their  fire  in  their  exposed  galley  on 
deck  ?  How,  then,  with  these  men,  and  women,  and  children, 
to  whom  a  first  voyage,  under  the  most  advantageous  circum 
stances,  must  come  just  as  hard  as  to  the  Honorable  De  Lancey 
Fitz  Clarence,  lady,  daughter,  and  seventeen  servants. 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  305 

Nor  is  this  all :  for  in  some  of  these  ships,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  Highlander,  the  emigrant  passengers  are  cut  off  from 
the  most  indispensable  conveniences  of  a  civilized  dwelling. 
This  forces  them  in  storm  time  to  such  extremities,  that  no 
wonder  fevers  and  plagues  are  the  result.  We  had  not 
been  at  sea  one  week,  when  to  hold  your  head  down  the 
fore  hatchway  was  like  holding  it  down  a  suddenly  opened 
cess-pool. 

But  still  more  than  this.  Such  is  the  aristocracy  main 
tained  on  board  some  of  these  ships,  that  the  most  arbitrary 
measures  are  enforced,  to  prevent  the  emigrants  from  intruding 
upon  the  most  holy  precincts  of  the  quarter-deck,  the  only 
completely  open  space  on  ship-board.  Consequently — even 
in  fine  weather — when  they  come  up  from  below,  they  are 
crowded  in  the  waist  of  the  ship,  and  jammed  among  the 
boats,  casks,  and  spars ;  abused  by  the  seamen,  and  sometimes 
cuffed  by  the  officers^  for  unavoidably  standing  in  the  way 
of  working  the  vessel. 

The  cabin-passengers  of  the  Highlander  numbered  some 
fifteen  in  all ;  and  to  protect  this  detachment  of  gentility 
from  the  barbarian  incursions  of  the  "  wild  Irish"  emigrants, 
ropes  were  passed  athwart-ships,  by  the  main-mast,  from 
side  to  side  :  which  defined  the  boundary  line  between  those 
who  had  paid  three  pounds  passage-money,  from  those  who 
had  paid  twenty  guineas.  And  the  cabin-passengers  them 
selves  were  the  most  urgent  in  having  this  regulation  main 
tained. 

Lucky  would  it  be  for  the  pretensions  of  some  parvenus, 
whose  souls  are  deposited  at  their  banker's,  and  whose 
bodies  but  serve  to  carry  about  purses,  knit  of  poor  men's 
heart-strings,  if  thus  easily  they  could  precisely  define,  ashore, 
the  difference  between  them  and  the  rest  of  humanity. 

But,  I,  Redburn,  am  a  poor  fellow,  who  have  hardly  ever 
known  what  it  is  to  have  five  silver  dollars  in  my  pocket  at 
one  time ;  so,  no  doubt,  this  circumstance  has  something  to 
Jo  with  my  slight  and  harmless  indignation  at  these  things. 


CHAPTER  XL VIII. 

A    LIVING    CORPSE. 

IT  was  destined  that  our  departure  from  the  English 
strand,  should  be  marked  by  a  tragical  event,  akin  to  the 
sudden  end  of  the  suicide,  which  had  so  strongly  impressed 
me  on  quitting  the  American  shore. 

Of  the  three  newly  shipped  men,  who  in  a  state  of  intox 
ication  had  been  brought  on  board  at  the  dock  gates,  two 
were  able  to  be  engaged  at  their  duties,  in  four  or  five  hours 
after  quitting  the  pier.  But  the  third  man  yet  lay  in  his 
bunk,  in  the  self-same  posture  in  which  his  limbs  had  been 
adjusted  by  the  crimp,  who  had  deposited  him  there. 

His  name  was  down  on  the  ship's  papers  as  Miguel  Saveda, 
and  for  Miguel  Saveda  the  chief  mate  at  last  came  forward, 
shouting  down  the  forecastle-scuttle,  and  commanding  his 
instant  presence  on  deck.  But  the  sailors  answered  for  their 
new  comrade  ;  giving  the  mate  to  understand  that  Miguel 
was  still  fast  locked  in  his  trance,  and  could  not  obey  him ; 
when,  muttering  his  usual  imprecation,  the  mate  retired  to 
the  quarter-deck. 

This  was  in  the  first  dog-watch,  from  four  to  six  in  the 
evening.  At  about  three  bells,  in  the  next  watch,  Max  the 
Dutchman,  who,  like  most  old  seamen,  was  something  of  a 
physician  in  cases  of  drunkenness,  recommended  that  Miguel's 
clothing  should  be  removed,  in  order  that  he  should  lie  more 
comfortably.  But  Jackson,  who  would  seldom  let  any  thing 
be  done  in  the  forecastle  that  was  not  proposed  by  himself, 
capriciously  forbade  this  proceeding. 

So  the  sailor  still  lay  out  of  sight  in  his  bunk,  which  was 
in  the  extreme  angle  of  the  forecastle,  behind  the  boivsprit- 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  307 

litts — two  stout  timbers  rooted  in  the  ship's  keel.  An  hour 
or  two  afterward,  some  of  the  men  observed  a  strange  odor 
in  the  forecastle,  which  was  attributed  to  the  presence  of 
some  dead  rat  among  the  hollow  spaces  in  the  side  planks  ; 
for  some  days  before,  the  forecastle  had  been  smoked  out,  to 
extirpate  the  vermin  overrunning  her.  At  midnight,  the 
larboard  watch,  to  which  I  belonged,  turned  out ;  and  in 
stantly  as  every  man  waked,  he  exclaimed  at  the  now  intol 
erable  smell,  supposed  to  be  heightened  by  the  shaking  up 
of  the  bilge-water,  from  the  ship's  rolling. 

"  Blast  that  rat !"  cried  the  Greenlander. 

"  He's  blasted  already,"  said  Jackson,  who  in  his  drawers 
had  crossed  over  to  the  bunk  of  Miguel.  "  It's  a  water-rat, 
shipmates,  that's  dead ;  and  here  he  is" — and  with  that,  he 
dragged  forth  the  sailor's  arm,  exclaiming,  "  Dead  as  a  tim 
ber-head  !" 

Upon  this  the  men  rushed  toward  the  bunk,  Max  with 
the  light,  which  he  held  to  the  man's  face. 

"No,  he's  not  dead,"  he  cried,  as  the  yellow  flame 
wavered  for  a  moment  at  the  seaman's  motionless  mouth. 
But  hardly  had  the  words  escaped,  when,  to  the  silent  horror 
of  all,  two  threads  of  greenish  fire,  like  a  forked  tongue, 
darted  out  between  the  lips  ;  and  in  a  moment,  the  cadav 
erous  face  was  crawled  over  by  a  swarm  of  worm-like  flames. 

The  lamp  dropped  from  the  hand  of  Max,  and  went  out ; 
while  covered  all  over  with  spires  and  sparkles  of  flame,  that 
faintly  crackled  in  the  silence,  the  uncovered  parts  of  the 
body  burned  before  us,  precisely  like  a  phosphorescent  shark 
in  a  midnight  sea. 

The  eyes  were  open  and  fixed ;  the  mouth  was  curled  like 
a  scroll,  and  every  lean  feature  firm  as  in  life  ;  while  the 
whole  face,  now  wound  in  curls  of  soft  blue  flame,  wore  an 
aspect  of  grim  defiance,  and  eternal  death.  Prometheus, 
blasted  by  fire  on  the  rock. 

One  arm,  its  red  shirt-sleeve  rolled  up,  exposed  the  man's 
name,  tattooed  in  vermilion,  near  the  hollow  of  the  middle 


308  REDBURN: 


joint ;  and  as  if  there  was  something  peculiar  in  the  painted 
flesh,  every  vibrating  letter  burned  so  white,  that  you  might 
read  the  flaming  name  in  the  flickering  ground  of  blue. 

"Where's  that  d — d  Miguel?"  was  now  shouted  down 
among  us  from  the  scuttle  by  the  mate,  who  had  just  come 
on  deck,  arid  was  determined  to  have  every  man  up  that 
belonged  to  his  watch. 

"  He's  gone  to  the  harbor  where  they  never  weigh  anchor," 
coughed  Jackson.  "  Come  you  down,  sir,  and  look." 

Thinking  that  Jackson  intended  to  beard  him,  the  mate 
sprang  down  in  a  rage ;  but  recoiled  at  the  burning  body  as 
if  he  had  been  shot  by  a  bullet.  "  My  God  !"  he  cried,  and 
stood  holding  fast  to  the  ladder. 

"  Take  hold  of  it,"  said  Jackson,  at  last,  to  the  Green- 
lander;  "  it  must  go  overboard.  Don't  stand  shaking  there, 
like  a  dog ;  take  hold  of  it,  I  say !  But  stop" — and  smother 
ing  it  all  in  the  blankets,  he  pulled  it  partly  out  of  the  bunk. 

A  few  minutes  more,  and  it  fell  with  a  bubble  among  the 
phosphorescent  sparkles  of  the  damp  night  sea,  leaving  a 
corruscating  wake  as  it  sank. 

This  event  thrilled  me  through  and  through  with  unspeak 
able  horror ;  nor  did  the  conversation  of  the  watch  during 
the  next  four  hours  on  deck,  at  all  serve  to  soothe  me. 

But  what  most  astonished  me,  and  seemed  most  incredible, 
was  the  infernal  opinion  of  Jackson,  that  the  man  had  been 
actually  dead  when  brought  on  board  the  ship  ;  and  that 
knowingly,  and  merely  for  the  sake  of  the  month's  advance, 
paid  into  his  hand  upon  the  strength  of  the  bill  he  presented, 
the  body-snatching  crimp  had  knowingly  shipped  a  corpse 
on  board  of  the  Highlander,  under  the  pretense  of  its  being 
a  live  body  in  a  drunken  trance.  And  I  heard  Jackson  say, 
that  he  had  known  of  such  things  having  been  done  before. 
But  that  a  really  dead  body  ever  burned  in  that  manner,  I 
can  not  even  yet  believe.  But  the  sailors  seemed  familiar 
with  such  things ;  or  at  least  with  the  stories  of  such  things 
having  happened  to  others. 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  309 

For  me,  who  at  that  age  had  never  so  much  as  happened 
to  hear  of  a  case  like  this,  of  animal  combustion,  in  the 
horrid  mood  that  came  over  me,  I  almost  thought  the  burn 
ing  body  was  a  premonition  of  the  hell  of  the  Calvinists, 
and  that  Miguel's  earthly  end  was  a  foretaste  of  his  eternal 
condemnation. 

Immediately  after  the  burial,  an  iron  pot  of  red  coals  was 
placed  in  the  bunk,  and  in  it  two  handfuls  of  coffee  were 
roasted.  This  done,  the  bunk  was  nailed  up,  and  was  never 
opened  again  during  the  voyage  ;  and  strict  orders  were 
given  to  the  crew  not  to  divulge  what  had  taken  place  to 
the  emigrants  :  but  to  this,  they  needed  no  commands. 

After  the  event,  no  one  sailor  but  Jackson  would  stay- 
alone  in  the  forecastle,  by  night  or  by  noon  ;  and  no  more 
would  they  laugh  or  sing,  or  in  any  way  make  merry  there, 
but  kept  all  their  pleasantries  for  the  watches  on  deck.  All 
but  Jackson  :  who,  while  the  rest  would  be  sitting  silently 
smoking  on  their  chests,  or  in  their  bunks,  would  look  to 
ward  the  fatal  spot,  and  cough,  and  laugh,  and  invoke  the 
dead  man  with  incredible  scoffs  and  jeers.  He  froze  my 
blood,  and  made  my  soul  stand  still. 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 

CARLO. 

THERE  was  on  board  our  ship,  among  the  emigrant  pas 
sengers,  a  rich-cheeked,  chestnut-haired  Italian  boy,  arrayed 
in  a  faded,  olive-hued  velvet  jacket,  and  tattered  trowsers 
rolled  up  to  his  knee.  He  was  not  above  fifteen  years  of 
age  ;  but  in  the  twilight  pensiveness  of  his  full  morning 
eyes,  there  seemed  to  sleep  experiences  so  sad  and  various, 
that  his  days  must  have  seemed  to  him  years.  It  was  not 
an  eye  like  Harry's,  tho'  Harry's  was  large  and  womanly.  It 
shone  with  a  soft  and  spiritual  radiance,  like  a  moist  star  in 
a  tropic  sky ;  and  spoke  of  humility,  deep-seated  thoughtful- 
ness,  yet  a  careless  endurance  of  all  the  ills  of  life. 

The  head  was  if  any  thing  small ;  and  heaped  with 
thick  clusters  of  tendril  curls,  half  overhanging  the  brows 
and  delicate  ears,  it  somehow  reminded  you  of  a  classic 
vase,  piled  up  with  Falernian  foliage. 

From  the  knee  downward,  the  naked  leg  was  beautiful 
to  behold  as  any  lady's  arm ;  so  soft  and  rounded,  with  in 
fantile  ease  and  grace.  His  whole  figure  was  free,  fine,  and 
indolent ;  he  was  such  a  boy  as  might  have  ripened  into 
life  in  a  Neapolitan  vineyard  ;  such  a  boy  as  gipsies  steal  in 
infancy ;  such  a  boy  as  Murillo  often  painted,  when  he  went 
among  the  poor  and  outcast,  for  subjects  wherewith  to  cap 
tivate  the  eyes  of  rank  and  wealth  ;  such  a  boy,  as  only 
Andalusian  beggars  are,  full  of  poetry,  gushing  from  every 
rent. 

Carlo  was  his  name  ;  a  poor  and  friendless  son  of  earth, 
who  had  no  sire ;  and  on  life's  ocean  was  swept  along,  as 
spoon-drift  in  a  gale. 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  311 

Some  months  previous,  he  had  landed  in  Prince's  Dock, 
with  his  hand-organ,  from  a  Messina  vessel ;  and  had  walk 
ed  the  streets  of  Liverpool,  playing  the  sunny  airs  of  south 
ern  climes,  among  the  northern  fog  and  drizzle.  And  now, 
having  laid  by  enough  to  pay  his  passage  over  the  Atlantic, 
he  had  again  embarked,  to  seek  his  fortunes  in  America. 

From  the  first,  Harry  took  to  the  boy. 

"  Carlo,"  said  Harry,  "  how  did  you  succeed  in  England?" 

He  was  reclining  upon  an  old  sail  spread  on  the  long 
boat  ;  and  throwing  back  his  soiled  but  tasseled  cap,  and 
caressing  one  leg  like  a  child,  he  looked  up,  and  said  in  his 
broken  English — that  seemed  like  mixing  the  potent  wine 
of  Oporto  with  some  delicious  syrup  : — said  he,  "  Ah  !  I 
succeed  very  well ! — for  I  have  tunes  for  the  young  and 
the  old,  the  gay  and  the  sad.  I  have  marches  for  military 
young  men,  and  love-airs  for  the  ladies,  and  solemn  sounds 
for  the  aged.  I  never  draw  a  crowd,  but  I  know  from 
their  faces  what  airs  will  best  please  them ;  I  never  stop 
before  a  house,  but  I  judge  from  its  portico  for  what  tune 
they  will  soonest  toss  me  some  silver.  And  I  ever  play  sad 
airs  to  the  merry,  and  merry  airs  to  the  sad  ;  and  most  al 
ways  the  rich  best  fancy  the  sad,  and  the  poor  the  merry." 

"  But  do  you  not  sometimes  meet  with  cross  and  crabbed 
old  men,"  said  Harry,  "  who  would  much  rather  have  your 
room  than  your  music  ?" 

c 'Yes,  sometimes, "  said  Carlo,  playing  with  his  foot, 
"  sometimes  I  do." 

"  And  then,  knowing  the  value  of  quiet  to  unquiet  men, 
I  suppose  you  never  leave  them  under  a  shilling?" 

"  No,"  continued  the  boy,  "  I  love  my  organ  as  I  do  my 
self,  for  it  is  my  only  friend,  poor  organ  !  it  sings  to  me 
when  I  am  sad,  and  cheers  me ;  and  I  never  play  before  a 
house,  on  purpose  to  be  paid  for  leaving  off,  not  I ;  would 
I,  poor  organ  ?" — looking  down  the  hatchway  where  it  was. 
"  No,  that  I  never  have  done,  and  never  will  do,  though  I 
starve ;  for  when  people  drive  me  away,  I  do  not  think  my 


312  REDBURN: 


organ  is  to  blame,  but  they  themselves  are  to  blame  ;  for 
such  people's  musical  pipes  are  cracked,  and  grown  rusted, 
that  no  more  music  can  be  breathed  into  their  souls." 

"  No,  Carlo  ;  no  music  like  yours,  perhaps,"  said  Harry, 
with  a  laugh. 

"  Ah  !  there's  the  mistake.  Though  my  organ  is  as  full 
of  melody,  as  a  hive  is  of  bees ;  yet  no  organ  can  make 
music  in  unmusical  breasts ;  no  more  than  my  native  winds 
can,  when  they  breathe  upon  a  harp  without  chords." 

Next  day  was  a  serene  and  delightful  one  ;  and  in  the 
evening  when  the  vessel  was  just  rippling  along  impelled  by 
a  gentle  yet  steady  breeze,  and  the  poor  emigrants,  relieved 
from  their  late  sufferings,  were  gathered  on  deck ;  Carlo 
suddenly  started  up  from  his  lazy  reclinings  ;  went  below, 
and,  assisted  by  the  emigrants,  returned  with  his  organ. 

Now,  music  is  a  holy  thing,  and  its  instruments,  however 
humble,  are  to  be  loved  and  revered.  Whatever  has  made, 
or  does  make,  or  may  make  music,  should  be  held  sacred  as 
the  golden  bridle-bit  of  the  Shah  of  Persia's  horse,  and  the 
golden  hammer,  with  which  his  hoofs  are  shod.  Musical 
instruments  should  be  like  the  silver  tongs,  with  which  the 
high-priests  tended  the  Jewish  altars — never  to  be  touched 
by  a  hand  profane.  Who  would  bruise  the  poorest  reed  of 
Pan,  though  plucked  from  a  beggar's  hedge,  would  insult 
the  melodious  god  himself. 

And  there  is  no  humble  thing  with  music  in  it,  not  a  fife, 
not  a  negro-fiddle,  that  is  not  to  be  reverenced  as  much  as 
the  grandest  architectural  organ  that  ever  rolled  its  flood- 
tide  of  harmony  down  a  cathedral  nave.  For  even  a  Jew's- 
harp  may  be  so  played,  as  to  awaken  all  the  fairies  that  are 
in  us,  and  make  them  dance  in  our  souls,  as  on  a  moon-lit 
sward  of  violets. 

But  what  subtle  power  is  this,  residing  in  but  a  bit  of 
steel,  which  might  have  made  a  tenpenny  nail,  that  so 
enters,  without  knocking,  into  our  inmost  beings,  and  shows 
us  all  hidden  things  ? 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  313 

Not  in  a  spirit  of  foolish  speculation  altogether,  in  no 
merely  transcendental  mood,  did  the  glorious  Greek  of  old 
fancy  the  human  soul  to  be  essentially  a  harmony.  And  if 
we  grant  that  theory  of  Paracelsus  and  Campanella,  that 
every  man  has  four  souls  within  him ;  then  can  we  account 
for  those  banded  sounds  with  silver  links,  those  quartettes  of 
melody,  that  sometimes  sit  and  sing  within  us,  as  if  our  souls 
were  baronial  halls,  and  our  music  were  made  by  the  hoar- 
est  old  harpers  of  Wales. 

But  look  !  here  is  poor  Carlo's  organ  ;  and  while  the  silent 
crowd  surrounds  him,  there  he  stands,  looking  mildly  but  in 
quiringly  about  him ;  his  right  hand  pulling  and  twitching 
the  ivory  knobs  at  one  end  of  his  instrument. 

Behold  the  organ ! 

Surely,  if  much  virtue  lurk  in  the  old  fiddles  of  Cremona, 
and  if  their  melody  be  in  proportion  to  their  antiquity,  what 
divine  ravishments  may  we  not  anticipate  from  this  venera 
ble,  embrowned  old  organ,  which  might  almost  have  played 
the  Dead  March  in  Saul,  when  King  Saul  himself  was 
buried. 

A  fine  old  organ  !  carved  into  fantastic  old  towers,  and 
turrets,  and  belfries  ;  its  architecture  seems  somewhat  of  the 
Gothic,  monastic  order  ;  in  front,  it  looks  like  the  West-Front 
of  York  Minster. 

What  sculptured  arches,  leading  into  mysterious  intrica 
cies  ! — what  mullioned  windows,  that  seem  as  if  they  must 
look  into  chapels  flooded  with  devotional  sunsets  ! — what 
flying  buttresses,  and  gable-ends,  and  niches  with  saints  ! — 
But  stop  !  'tis  a  Moorish  iniquity ;  for  here,  as  I  live,  is  a 
Saracenic  arch  ;  which,  for  aught  I  know,  may  lead  into 
some  interior  Alhambra. 

Ay,  it  does ;  for  as  Carlo  now  turns  his  hand,  I  hear  the 
gush  of  the  Fountain  of  Lions,  as  he  plays  some  thronged 
Italian  air — a  mixed  and  liquid  sea  of  sound,  that  dashes 
its  spray  in  my  face. 

PJay  on,  play  on,  Italian  boy  !  what  though  the  notes  be 
O 


314  REDBURN: 


broken,  here's  that  within  that  mends  them.  Turn  hither 
your  pensive,  morning  eyes ;  and  while  I  list  to  the  organs 
twain — one  yours,  one  mine — let  me  gaze  fathoms  down 
into  thy  fathomless  eye  ; — 'tis  good  as  gazing  down  into  the 
great  South  Sea,  and  seeing  the  dazzling  rays  of  the  dolphins 
there. 

Play  on,  play  on  !  for  to  every  note  come  trooping,  now, 
triumphant  standards,  armies  marching — all  the  pomp  of 
sound.  Methinks  I  am  Xerxes,  the  nucleus  of  the  martial 
neigh  of  all  the  Persian  studs.  Like  gilded  damask-flies, 
thick  clustering  on  some  lofty  bough,  my  satraps  swarm 
around  me. 

But  now  the  pageant  passes,  and  I  droop ;  while  Carlo 
taps  his  ivory  knobs,  and  plays  some  flute-like  saraband- 
soft,  dulcet,  dropping  sounds,  like  silver  oars  in  bubbling 
brooks.  And  now  a  clanging,  martial  air,  as  if  ten  thousand 
brazen  trumpets,  forged  from  spurs  and  sword-hilts,  called 
North,  and  South,  and  East,  to  rush  to  West  ! 

Again — what  blasted  heath  is  this  ? — what  goblin  sounds 
of  Macbeth's  witches  ?  —  Beethoven's  Spirit  Waltz  !  the 
muster-call  of  sprites  and  specters.  Now  come,  hands  join 
ed,  Medusa,  Hecate,  she  of  Endor,  and  all  the  Blocksberg's, 
demons  dire. 

Once  more  the  ivory  knobs  are  tapped  ;  and  long-drawn, 
golden  sounds  are  heard — some  ode  to  Cleopatra ;  slowly 
loom,  and  solemnly  expand,  vast,  rounding  orbs  of  beauty  ; 
and  before  me  float  innumerable  queens,  deep  dipped  in  sil 
ver  gauzes. 

All  this  could  Carlo  do — make,  unmake  me  ;  build  me 
up  ;  to  pieces  take  me  ;  and  join  me  lirnb  to  limb.  He  is 
the  architect  of  domes  of  sound,  and  bowers  of  song. 

And  all  is  done  with  that  old  organ  !  Reverenced,  then, 
be  all  street  organs  ;  more  melody  is  at  the  beck  of  my 
Italian  boy,  than  lurks  in  squadrons  of  Parisian  orchestras. 

But  look  !  Carlo  has  that  to  feast  the  eye  as  well  as  ear ; 
and  the  same  wondrous  magic  in  me,  magnifies  them  into 


HIS   FIRST   VOYAGE.  315 

grandeur ;  though  every  figure  greatly  needs  the  artist's  re 
pairing  hand,  and  sadly  needs  a  dusting. 

His  York  Minster's  West-Front  opens  ;  and  like  the  gates 
of  Milton's  heaven,  it  turns  on  golden  hinges. 

What  have  we  here  ?  The  inner  palace  of  the  Great 
Mogul  ?  Grouped  and  gilded  columns,  in  confidential  clus 
ters  ;  fixed  fountains  ;  canopies  and  lounges  ;  and  lords  and 
dames  in  silk  and  spangles. 

The  organ  plays  a  stately  march ;  and  presto  !  wide  open 
arches  ;  and  out  come,  two  and  two,  with  nodding  plumes, 
in  crimson  turbans,  a  troop  of  martial  men  ;  with  jingling 
scimeters,  they  pace  the  hall ;  salute,  pass  on,  and  disap 
pear. 

Now,  ground  and  lofty  tumblers  ;  jet  black  Nubian  slaves. 
They  fling  themselves  on  poles  ;  stand  on  their  heads  ;  and 
downward  vanish. 

And  now  a  dance  and  masquerade  of  figures,  reeling  from 
the  side-doors,  among  the  knights  and  dames.  Some  sultan 
leads  a  sultaness ;  some  emperor,  a  queen ;  and  jeweled 
sword-hilts  of  carpet  knights  fling  back  the  glances  tossed  by 
coquettes  of  countesses. 

On  this,  the  curtain  drops  ;  and  there  the  poor  old  organ 
stands,  begrimed,  and  black,  and  rickety. 

Now,  tell  me,  Carlo,  if  at  street  corners,  for  a  single 
penny,  I  may  thus  transport  myself  in  dreams  Elysian,  who 
so  rich  as  I  ?  Not  he  who  owns  a  million. 

And  Carlo  !  ill  betide  the  voice  that  ever  greets  thee,  my 
Italian  boy,  with  aught  but  kindness  ;  cursed  the  slave  who 
ever  drives  thy  wondrous  box  of  sights  and  sounds  forth 
from  a  lordling's  door  ! 


CHAPTER  L. 

HARRY    BOLTON    AT    SEA. 

As  yet  I  have  said  nothing  about  how  my  friend,  Harry, 
got  along  as  a  sailor. 

Poor  Harry  !  a  feeling  of  sadness,  never  to  be  comforted, 
comes  over  me,  even  now  when  I  think  of  you.  For  this 
voyage  that  you  went,  but  carried  you  part  of  the  way  to 
that  ocean  grave,  which  has  buried  you  up  with  your  secrets, 
and  whither  no  mourning  pilgrimage  can  be  made. 

But  why  this  gloom  at  the  thought  of  the  dead  ?  And 
why  should  we  not  be  glad  ?  Is  it,  that  we  ever  think  of 
them  as  departed  from  all  joy  ?  Is  it,  that  we  believe  that 
indeed  they  are  dead  ?  They  revisit  us  not,  the  departed  ; 
their  voices  no  more  ring  in  the  air ;  summer  may  come,  but 
it  is  winter  with  them ;  and  even  in  our  own  limbs  we  feel  not 
the  sap  that  every  spring  renews  the  green  life  of  the  trees. 

But  Harry  !  you  live  over  again,  as  I  recall  your  image 
before  me.  I  see  you,  plain  and  palpable  as  in  life  ;  and  can 
make  your  existence  obvious  to  others.  Is  he,  then,  dead, 
of  whom  this  may  be  said  ? 

But  Harry !  you  are  mixed  with  a  thousand  strange  forms, 
the  centaurs  of  fancy  ;  half  real  and  human,  half  wild  and 
grotesque.  Divine  imaginings,  like  gods,  come  down  to  the 
groves  of  our  Thessalies,  and  there,  in  the  embrace  of  wild, 
dryad  reminiscences,  beget  the  beings  that  astonish  the  world. 

But  Harry !  though  your  image  now  roams  in  my  Thes- 
saly  groves,  it  is  the  same  as  of  old ;  and  among  the  droves 
of  mixed  beings  and  centaurs,  you  show  like  a  zebra,  band 
ing  with  elks. 

And  indeed,  in  his  striped  Guernsey  frock,  dark  glossy 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  317 

skin  and  hair,  Harry  Bolton,  mingling  with  the  Highlander's 
crew,  looked  not  unlike  the  soft,  silken  quadruped-creole,  that, 
pursued  by  wild  Bushmen,  bounds  through  CafFrarian  woods. 
How  they  hunted  you,  Harry,  my  zebra  !  those  ocean 
barbarians,  those  unimpressible,  uncivilized  sailors  of  ours  ! 
How  they  pursued  you  from  bowsprit  to  mainmast,  and 
started  you  out  of  your  every  retreat ! 

Before  the  day  of  our  sailing,  it  was  known  to  the  seamen 
that  the  girlish  youth,  whom  they  daily  saw  near  the  sign 
of  the  Clipper  in  Union-street,  would  form  one  of  their  home 
ward-bound  crew.  Accordingly,  they  cast  upon  him  many 
a  critical  glance ;  but  were  not  long  in  concluding  that 
Harry  would  prove  no  very  great  accession  to  their  strength ; 
that  the  hoist  of  so  tender  an  arm  would  not  tell  many  hun 
dred-weight  on  the  maintop-sail  halyards.  Therefore  they 
disliked  him  before  they  became  acquainted  with  him  ;  and 
such  dislikes,  as  every  one  knows,  are  the  most  inveterate, 
and  liable  to  increase.  But  even  sailors  are  not  blind  to  the 
sacredness  that  hallows  a  stranger  ;  and  for  a  time,  abstain 
ing  from  rudeness,  they  only  maintained  toward  my  friend  a 
cold  and  unsympathizing  civility. 

As  for  Harry,  at  first  the  novelty  of  the  scene  filled  up 
his  mind  ;  and  the  thought  of  being  bound  for  a  distant 
land,  carried  with  it,  as  with  every  one,  a  buoyant  feeling 
of  undefinable  expectation.  And  though  his  money  was 
now  gone  again,  all  but  a  sovereign  or  two,  yet  that  troubled 
him  but  little,  in  the  first  flush  of  being  at  sea. 

But  I  was  surprised,  that  one  who  had  certainly  seen 
much  of  life,  should  evince  such  an  incredible  ignorance  of 
what  was  wholly  inadmissible  in  a  person  situated  as  he 
was.  But  perhaps  his  familiarity  with  lofty  life,  only  the 
less  qualified  him  for  understanding  the  other  extreme.  Will 
you  believe  me,  this  Bury  blade  once  came  on  deck  in  a 
brocaded  dressing-gown,  embroidered  slippers,  and  tasseled 
smoking-cap,  to  stand  his  morning  watch. 

As  soon  as  I  beheld  him  thus  arrayed,  a  suspicion,  which 


318  RED  BURN: 


had  previously  crossed  my  mind,  again  recurred,  and  I  almost 
vowed  to  myself  that,  spite  his  protestations,  Harry  Bolton 
never  could  have  been  at  sea  before,  even  as  a  Guinea-pig 
in  an  Indiaman ;  for  the  slightest  acquaintance  with  the 
sea-life  and  sailors,  should  have  prevented  him,  it  would 
seem,  from  enacting  this  folly. 

"  Who's  that  Chinese  mandarin  ?"  cried  the  mate,  who 
had  made  voyages  to  Canton.  "  Look  you,  my  fine  fellow, 
douse  that  mainsail  now,  and  furl  it  in  a  trice." 

"  Sir  ?"  said  Harry,  starting  back.  "  Is  not  this  the 
morning  watch,  and  is  not  mine  a  morning  gown  ?" 

But  though,  in  my  refined  friend's  estimation,  nothing 
could  be  more  appropriate  ;  in  the  mate's,  it  was  the  most 
monstrous  of  incongruities  ;  and  the  offensive  gown  and  cap 
were  removed. 

"  It  is  too  bad  !"  exclaimed  Harry  to  me  ;  "  I  meant  to 
lounge  away  the  watch  in  that  gown  until  coffee  time  ; — 
and  I  suppose  your  Hottentot  of  a  mate  won't  permit  a  gen 
tleman  to  smoke  his  Turkish  pipe  of  a  morning ;  but  by  gad, 
I'll  wear  straps  to  my  pantaloons  to  spite  him  !" 

Oh  !  that  was  the  rock  on  which  you  split,  poor  Harry  ! 
Incensed  at  the  want  of  polite  refinement  in  the  mates  and 
crew,  Harry,  in  a  pet  and  pique,  only  determined  to  provoke 
them  the  more  ;  and  the  storm  of  indignation  he  raised  very 
soon  overwhelmed  him. 

The  sailors  took  a  special  spite  to  his  chest,  a  large  ma 
hogany  one,  which  he  had  had  made  to  order  at  a  furniture 
warehouse.  It  was  ornamented  with  brass  screw-heads, 
and  other  devices  ;  and  was  well  filled  with  those  articles 
of  the  wardrobe  in  which  Harry  had  sported  through  a 
London  season ;  for  the  various  vests  and  pantaloons  he  had 
sold  in  Liverpool,  when  in  want  of  money,  had  not  materially 
lessened  his  extensive  stock. 

It  was  curious  to  listen  to  the  various  hints  and  opinings 
thrown  out  by  the  sailors  at  the  occasional  glimpses  they 
had  of  this  collection  of  silks,  velvets,  broadcloths,  and  satins. 


HIS   FIRST    VOYAGE.  319 


I  do  not  know  exactly  what  they  thought  Harry  had  been ; 
but  they  seemed  unanimous  in  believing  that,  by  abandoning 
his  country,  Harry  had  left  more  room  for  the  gamblers. 
Jackson  even  asked  him  to  lift  up  the  lower  hem  of  his 
trowsers,  to  test  the  color  of  his  calves. 

It  is  a  noteworthy  circumstance,  that  whenever  a  slender 
made  youth,  of  easy  manners  and  polite  address,  happens  to 
form  one  of  a  ship's  company,  the  sailors  almost  invariably 
impute  his  sea-going  to  an  irresistible  necessity  of  decamping 
from  terra-firma  in  order  to  evade  the  constables. 

These  white-fingered  gentry  must  be  light-fingered  too, 
they  say  to  themselves,  or  they  would  not  be  after  putting 
their  hands  into  our  tar.  What  else  can  bring  them  to  sea  ? 

Cogent  and  conclusive  this  ;  and  thus  Harry,  from  the 
very  beginning,  was  put  down  for  a  very  equivocal  character. 

Sometimes,  however,  they  only  made  sport  of  his  appear 
ance  ;  especially  one  evening,  when  his  monkey  jacket  being 
wet  through,  he  was  obliged  to  mount  one  of  his  swallow- 
tailed  coats.  They  said  he  carried  two  mizen-peaks  at  his 
stern  ;  declared  he  was  a  broken-down  quill-driver,  or  a  foot- 
rnan  to  a  Portuguese  running  barber,  or  some  old  maid's 
tobacco-boy.  As  for  the  captain,  it  had  become  all  the  same 
to  Harry  as  if  there  were  no  gentlemanly  and  complaisant 
Captain  Riga  on  board.  For  to  his  no  small  astonishment, 
— but  just  as  I  had  predicted, — Captain  Riga  never  noticed 
him  now,  but  left  the  business  of  indoctrinating  him  into  the 
little  experiences  of  a  greenhorn's  career  solely  in  the  hands 
of  his  officers  arid  crew. 

But  the  worst  was  to  come.  For  the  first  few  days,  when 
ever  there  was  any  running  aloft  to  be  done,  I  noticed  that 
Harry  was  indefatigable  in  coiling  away  the  slack  of  the 
rigging  about  decks  ;  ignoring  the  fact  that  his  shipmates 
were  springing  into  the  shrouds.  And  when  all  hands  of 
the  watch  would  be  engaged  clewing  up  a  £- gallant-sail, 
that  is,  pulling  the  proper  ropes  on  deck  that  wrapped  the 
sail  up  on  the  yard  aloft,  Harry  would  always  manage  to  get 


. 


320  REDBURN: 


near  the  belaying-pin,  so  that  when  the  time  came  for  two 
of  us  to  spring  into  the  rigging,  he  would  be  inordinately 
fidgety  in  making  fast  the  cleiv-lines,  and  would  be  so  ab 
sorbed  in  that  occupation,  and  would  so  elaborate  the  hitch- 
ings  round  the  pin,  that  it  was  quite  impossible  for  him,  after 
doing  so  much,  to  mount  over  the  bulwarks  before  his  com 
rades  had  got  there.  However,  after  securing  the  clew-lines 
beyond  a  possibility  of  their  getting  loose,  Harry  would  al 
ways  make  a  feint  of  starting  in  a  prodigious  hurry  for  the 
shrouds ;  but  suddenly  looking  up,  and  seeing  others  in  ad 
vance,  would  retreat,  apparently  quite  chagrined  that  he 
had  been  cut  off  from  the  opportunity  of  signalizing  his 
activity. 

At  this  I  was  surprised,  and  spoke  to  my  friend  ;  when 
the  alarming  fact  was  confessed,  that  he  had  made  a  private 
trial  of  it,  and  it  never  would  do  :  he  could  not  go  aloft ; 
his  nerves  would  not  hear  of  it. 

"  Then,  Harry,"  said  I,  "  better  you  had  never  been  born. 
Do  you  know  what  it  is  that  you  are  coming  to  ?  Did  you 
not  tell  me  that  you  made  no  doubt  you  would  acquit  your 
self  well  in  the  rigging  ?  Did  you  not  say  that  you  had 
been  two  voyages  to  Bombay  ?  Harry,  you  were  mad  to 
ship.  But  you  only  imagine  it :  try  again ;  and  my  word 
for  it,  you  will  very  soon  find  yourself  as  much  at  home 
among  the  spars  as  a  bird  in  a  tree." 

But  he  could  not  be  induced  to  try  it  over  again  ;  the  fact 
was,  his  nerves  could  not  stand  it;  in  the  course  of  his 
courtly  career,  he  had  drunk  too  much  strong  Mocha  coffee 
and  gunpowder  tea,  and  had  smoked  altogether  too  many 
Havannas. 

At  last,  as  I  had  repeatedly  warned  him,  the  mate  singled 
him  out  one  morning,  and  commanded  him  to  mount,  to  the 
main-truck,  and  unreeve  the  short  signal  halyards. 

"  Sir  ?"  said  Harry,  aghast. 

"  Away  you  go  !"  said  the  mate,  snatching  a  whip's  end. 

"  Don't  strike  me  !"  screamed  Harry,  drawing  himself  up. 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  321 

"  Take  that,  and  along  with  you,"  cried  the  mate,  laying 
the  rope  once  across  his  back,  but  lightly. 

"  By  heaven !"  cried  Harry,  wincing — not  with  the  blow, 
but  the  insult :  and  then  making  a  dash  at  the  mate,  who, 
holding  out  his  long  arm,  kept  him  lazily  at  bay,  and  laughed 
at  him,  till,  had  I  not  feared  a  broken  head,  I  should  infal 
libly  have  pitched  my  boy's  bulk  into  the  officer. 

"  Captain  Riga  !"  cried  Harry. 

"  Don^t  call  upon  him,"  said  the  mate ;  "  he's  asleep,  and 
won't  wake  up  till  we  strike  Yankee'  soundings  again.  Up 
you  go  !"  he  added,  flourishing  the  rope's  end. 

Harry  looked  round  among  the  grinning  tars  with  a  glance 
of  terrible  indignation  and  agony  ;  and  then  settling  his  eye 
on  me,  and  seeing  there  no  hope,  but  even  an  admonition  of 
obedience,  as  his  only  resource,  he  made  one  bound  into  the 
rigging,  and  was  up  at  the  main-top  in  a  trice.  I  thought 
a  few  more  springs  would  take  him  to  the  truck,  and  was  a 
little  fearful  that  in  his  desperation  he  might  then  jump 
overboard ;  for  I  had  heard  of  delirious  greenhorns  doing 
such  things  at  sea,  and  being  lost  forever.  But  no  ;  he 
stopped  short,  and  looked  down  from  the  top.  Fatal  glance  ! 
it  unstrung  his  every  fiber  ;  and  I  saw  him  reel,  and  clutch 
the  shrouds,  till  the  mate  shouted  out  for  him  not  to  squeeze 
the  tar  out  of  the  ropes. 

"  Up  you  go,  sir." 

But  Harry  said  nothing. 

"  You  Max,"  cried  the  mate  to  the  Dutch  sailor,  "spring 
after  him,  and  help  him  ;  you  understand  ?" 

Max  went  up  the  rigging  hand  over  hand,  and  brought 
his  red  head  with  a  bump  against  the  base  of  Harry's  back. 
Needs  must  when  the  devil  drives ;  and  higher  and  higher, 
with  Max  bumping  him  at  every  step,  went  my  unfortunate 
friend.  At  last  he  gained  the  royal  yard,  and  the  thin  signal 
halyards — hardly  bigger  than  common  twine — were  flying  in 
the  wind. 

"  Unreeve  !"  cried  the  mate, 
o* 


REDBURN: 


I  saw  Harry's  arm  stretched  out — his  legs  seemed  shaking 
in  the  rigging,  even  to  us,  down  on  deck ;  and  at  last,  thank 
heaven  !  the  deed  was  done. 

He  came  down  pale  as  death,  with  bloodshot  eyes,  and 
every  limb  quivering.  From  that  moment  he  never  put  foot 
in  rattlin  ;  never  mounted  above  the  bulwarks  ;  and  for  the 
residue  of  the  voyage,  at  least,  became  an  altered  person. 

At  the  time,  he  went  to  the  mate — since  he  could  not 
get  speech  of  the  captain — and  conjured  him  to  intercede 
with  Riga,  that  his  name  might  be  stricken  off  from  the  list 
of  the  ship's  company,  so  that  he  might  make  the  voyage  as 
a  steerage  passenger ;  for  which  privilege,  he  bound  himself 
to  pay,  as  soon  as  he  could  dispose  of  some  things  of  his  in 
New  York,  over  and  above  the  ordinary  passage-money. 
But  the  mate  gave  him  a  blunt  denial ;  and  a  look  of  won 
der  at  his  effrontery.  Once  a  sailor  on  board  a  ship,  and 
alivays  a  sailor  for  that  voyage,  at  least ;  for  within  so  brief 
a  period,  no  officer  can  bear  to  associate  on  terms  of  any 
thing  like  equality  with  a  person  whom  he  has  ordered  about 
at  his  pleasure. 

Harry  then  told  the  mate  solemnly,  that  he  might  do 
what  he  pleased,  but  go  aloft  again  he  could  not,  and  would 
not.  He  would  do  any  thing  else  but  that. 

This  affair  sealed  Harry's  fate  on  board  of  the  Highlander ; 
the  crew  now  reckoned  him  fair  play  for  their  worst  jibes 
and  jeers,  and  he  led  a  miserable  life  indeed. 

Few  landsmen  can  imagine  the  depressing  and  self-humiliat 
ing  effect  of  finding  one's  self,  for  the  first  time,  at  the  beck  of 
illiterate  sea-tyrants,  with  no  opportunity  of  exhibiting  any  trait 
about  you,  but  your  ignorance  of  every  thing  connected  with 
the  sea-life  that  you  lead,  and  the  duties  you  are  constantly 
called  upon  to  perform.      In  such  a  sphere,  and  under  such 
circumstances,  Isaac  Newton  and  Lord  Bacon  would  be  sea-      j 
clowns  and  bumpkins  ;   and  Napoleon  Bonaparte  be  cuffed 
and  kicked  without  remorse.      In  more  than  one  instance  I     / 
have  seen  the  truth  of  this  ;  and  Harry,  poor  Harry,  proved 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  323 

no  exception.  And  from  the  circumstances  which  exempted 
me  from  experiencing  the  bitterest  of  these  evils,  I  only  the 
more  felt  for  one  who,  from  a  strange  constitutional  nervous 
ness,  before  unknown  even  to  himself,  was  become  as  a  hunted 
hare  to  the  merciless  crew. 

But  how  was  it  that  Harry  Bolton,  who  spite  of  his  effem 
inacy  of  appearance,  had  evinced,  in  our  London  trip,  such  un 
mistakable  flashes  of  a  spirit  not  easily  tamed — how  was  it, 
that  he  could  now  yield  himself  up  to  the  almost  passive  recep 
tion  of  contumely  and  contempt  ?  Perhaps  his  spirit,  for  the 
time,  had  been  broken.  But  I  will  not  undertake  to  explain ; 
we  are  curious  creatures,  as  every  one  knows ;  and  there  are 
passages  in  the  lives  of  all  men,  so  out  of  keeping  with  the 
common  tenor  of  their  ways,  and  so  seemingly  contradictory 
of  themselves,  that  only  He  who  made  us  can  expound  them. 


CHAPTER  LI. 

THE  EMIGRANTS. 

AFTER  the  first  miserable  weather  we  experienced  at  sea, 
we  had  intervals  of  foul  and  fair,  mostly  the  former,  how 
ever,  attended  with  head  winds  ;  till  at  last,  after  a  three 
days'  fog  and  rain,  the  sun  rose  cheerily  one  morning,  and 
showed  us  Cape  Clear.  Thank  heaven,  we  were  out  of 
the  weather  emphatically  called  ''•  Channel  weather"  and 
the  last  we  should  see  of  the  eastern  hemisphere  was  now 
in  plain  sight,  and  all  the  rest  was  broad  ocean. 

Land  ho!  was  cried,  as  the  dark  purple  headland  grew 
out  of  the  north.  At  the  cry,  the  Irish  emigrants  came 
rushing  up  the  hatchway,  thinking  America  itself  was  at 
hand. 

"  Where  is  it  ?"  cried  one  of  them,  running  out  a  little 
way  on  the  bowsprit.  "  Is  that  it  ?" 

"  Aye,  it  doesn't  look  much  like  ouZd  Ireland,  does  it  ?" 
said  Jackson. 

"Not  a  bit,  honey  : — and  how  long  before  we  get  there? 
to-night  ?" 

Nothing  could  exceed  the  disappointment  and  grief  of  the 
emigrants,  when  they  were  at  last  informed,  that  the  land 
to  the  north  was  their  own  native  island,  which,  after  leaving 
three  or  four  weeks  previous  in  a  steamboat  for  Liverpool, 
was  now  close  to  them  again ;  and  that,  after  newly  voyaging 
so  many  days  from  the  Mersey,  the  Highlander  was  only 
bringing  them  in  view  of  the  original  home  whence  they 
started. 

They  were  the  most  simple  people  I  had  ever  seen.  They 
seemed  to  have  no  adequate  idea  of  distances ;  and  to  them, 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  325 

America  must  have  seemed  as  a  place  just  over  a  river. 
Every  morning  some  of  them  came  on  deck,  to  see  how 
much  nearer  we  were  :  and  one  old  man  would  stand  for 
hours  together,  looking  straight  off  from  the  bows,  as  if  he 
expected  to  see  New  York  city  every  minute,  when,  perhaps, 
we  were  yet  two  thousand  miles  distant,  and  steering,  more 
over,  against  a  head  wind. 

The  only  thing  that  ever  diverted  this  poor  old  man  from 
his  earnest  search  for  land,  was  the  occasional  appearance  of 
porpoises  under  the  hows ;  when  he  would  cry  out  at  the 
top  of  his  voice — "  Look,  look,  ye  divils  !  look  at  the  great 
pigs  of  the  s'a  !" 

At  last,  the  emigrants  began  to  think,  that  the  ship  had 
played  them  false  ;  and  that  she  was  bound  for  the  East 
Indies,  or  some  other  remote  place  ;  and  one  night,  Jackson 
set  a  report  going  among  them,  that  Riga  purposed  taking 
them  to  Barbary,  and  selling  them  all  for  slaves ;  but  though 
some  of  the  old  women  almost  believed  it,  and  a  great  weep 
ing  ensued  among  the  children,  yet  the  men  knew  better  than 
to  believe  such  a  ridiculous  tale. 

Of  all  the  emigrants,  my  Italian  boy  Carlo,  seemed  most 
at  his  ease.  He  would  lie  all  day  in  a  dreamy  mood,  sunning 
himself  in  the  long  boat,  and  gazing  out  on  the  sea.  At 
night,  he  would  bring  up  his  organ,  and  play  for  several 
hours  ;  much  to  the  delight  of  his  fellow  voyagers,  who 
blessed  him  and  his  organ  again  and  again  ;  and  paid  him 
for  his  music  by  furnishing  him  his  meals.  Sometimes,  the 
steward  would  come  forward,  when  it  happened  to  be  very 
much  of  a  moonlight,  with  a  message  from  the  cabin,  for 
Carlo  to  repair  to  the  quarter-deck,  and  entertain  the  gen 
tlemen  and  ladies. 

There  was  a  fiddler  on  board,  as  will  presently  be  seen ; 
and  sometimes,  by  urgent  entreaties,  he  was  induced  to  unite 
his  music  with  Carlo's,  for  the  benefit  of  the  cabin  occupants ; 
but  this  was  only  twice  or  thrice  :  for  this  fiddler  deemed 
himself  considerably  elevated  above  the  other  steerage-pas- 


326  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


sengers;  and  did  not  much  fancy  the  idea  of  fiddling  to 
strangers ;  and  thus  wear  out  his  elbow,  while  persons, 
entirely  unknown  to  him,  and  in  whose  welfare  he  felt  not 
the  slightest  interest,  were  curveting  about  in  famous  high 
spirits.  So  for  the  most  part,  the  gentlemen  and  ladies  were 
fain  to  dance  as  well  as  they  could  to  my  little  Italian's  organ. 

It  was  the  most  accommodating  organ  in  the  world ;  for 
it  could  play  any  tune  that  was  called  for ;  Carlo  pulling  in 
and  out  the  ivory  knobs  at  one  side,  and  so  manufacturing 
melody  at  pleasure. 

True,  some  censorious  gentlemen  cabin-passengers  pro 
tested,  that  such  or  such  an  air,  was  not  precisely  according 
to  Handel  or  Mozart;  and  some  ladies,  whom  I  overheard 
talking  about  throwing  their  nosegays  to  Malibran  at  Covent 
Garden,  assured  the  attentive  Captain  Riga,  that  Carlo's 
organ  was  a  most  wretched  affair,  and  made  a  horrible  din. 

"  Yes,  ladies,"  said  the  captain,  bowing,  "  by  your  leave, 
I  think  Carlo's  organ  must  have  lost  its  mother,  for  it  squealls 
like  a  pig  running  after  its  dam." 

Harry  was  incensed  at  these  criticisms ;  and  yet  these 
cabin-people  were  all  ready  enough  to  dance  to  poor  Carlo's 
music. 

"  Carlo" — said  I,  one  night,  as  he  was  marching  forward 
from  the  quarter-deck,  after  one  of  these  sea-quadrilles,  which 
took  place  during  my  watch  on  deck  : — "  Carlo" — said  I, 
"  what  do  the  gentlemen  and  ladies  give  you  for  playing  ?" 

"  Look !" — and  he  showed  me  three  copper  medals  of 
Britannia  and  her  shield — three  English  pennies. 

Now,  whenever  we  discover  a  dislike  in  us,  toward  any 
one,  we  should  ever  be  a  little  suspicious  of  ourselves.  It 
may  be,  therefore,  that  the  natural  antipathy,  with  which 
almost  all  seamen  and  steerage-passengers,  regard  the  inmates 
of  the  cabin,  was  one  cause  at  least,  of  my  not  feeling  very 
charitably  disposed  toward  them,  myself. 

Yes  :  that  might  have  been  ;  but  nevertheless,  I  will  let 
nature  have  her  own  way  for  once  ;  and  here  declare  round- 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  327 

ly,  that,  however  it  was,  I  cherished  a  feeling  toward  these 
cabin-passengers,  akin  to  contempt.  Not  because  they  hap 
pened  to  be  cabin-passengers  :  not  at  all  :  but  only  because 
they  seemed  the  most  finical,  miserly,  mean  men  and  women, 
that  ever  stepped  over  the  Atlantic. 

One  of  them  was  an  old  fellow  in  a  robust  looking  coat, 
with  broad  skirts  ;  he  had  a  nose  like  a  bottle  of  port-wine  ; 
and  would  stand  for  a  whole  hour,  with  his  legs  straddling 
apart,  and  his  hands  deep  down  in  his  breeches  pockets,  as 
if  he  had  two  mints  at  work  there,  coining  guineas.  He 
was  an  abominable  looking  old  fellow,  with  cold,  fat,  jelly- 
like  eyes  ;  and  avarice,  heartlessness,  and  sensuality  stamped 
all  over  him.  He  seemed  all  the  time  going  through  some 
process  of  mental  arithmetic  ;  doing  sums  with  dollars  and 
cents  :  his  very  mouth,  wrinkled  and  drawn  up  at  the 
corners,  looked  like  a  purse.  When  he  dies,  his  skull  ought 
to  be  turned  into  a  savings'  box,  with  the  till-hole  between 
his  teeth. 

Another  of  the  cabin  inmates,  was  a  middle-aged  Londoner, 
in  a  comical  Cockney-cut  coat,  with  a  pair  of  semicircular 
tails  :  so  that  he  looked  as  if  he  were  sitting  in  a  swing. 
He  wore  a  spotted  neckerchief ;  a  short,  little,  fiery-red  vest ; 
and  striped  pants,  very  thin  in  the  calf,  but  very  full  about 
the  waist.  There  was  nothing  describable  about  him  but 
his  dress  ;  for  he  had  such  a  meaningless  face,  I  can  not 
remember  it ;  though  I  have  a  vague  impression,  that  it 
looked  at  the  time,  as  if  its  owner  was  laboring  under  the 
mumps. 

Then  there  were  two  or  three  buckish  looking  young 
fellows,  among  the  rest ;  who  were  all  the  time  playing  at 
cards  on  the  poop,  under  the  lee  of  the  spanker;  or  smoking 
cigars  on  the  taffrail ;  or  sat  quizzing  the  emigrant  women 
with  opera-glasses,  leveled  through  the  windows  of  the  upper 
cabin.  These  sparks  frequently  called  for  the  steward  to 
help  them  to  brandy  and  water,  and  talked  about  going  on 
to  Washington,  to  see  Niagara  Falls. 


328  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


There  was  also  an-  old  gentleman,  who  had  brought  with 
him  three  or  four  heavy  files  of  the  London  Times,  and 
other  papers  ;  and  he  spent  all  his  hours  in  reading  them, 
on  the  shady  side  of  the  deck,  with  one  leg  crossed  over  the 
other ;  and  without  crossed  legs,  he  never  read  at  all. 
That  was  indispensable  to  the  proper  understanding  of  what 
he  studied.  He  growled  terribly,  when  disturbed  by  the 
sailors,  who  now  and  then  were  obliged  to  move  him  to  get 
at  the  ropes. 

As  for  the  ladies,  I  have  nothing  to  say  concerning  them ; 
for  ladies  are  like  creeds ;  if  you  can  not  speak  well  of  them, 
say  nothing. 


CHAPTER  LIL 

THE  EMIGRANTS'  KITCHEN. 

I  HAVE  made  some  mention  of  the  "  galley,"  or  great 
stove  for  the  steerage  passengers,  which  was  planted  over 
the  main  hatches. 

During  the  outward-bound  passage,  there  were  so  few 
occupants  of  the  steerage,  that  they  had  abundant  room  to 
do  their  cooking  at  this  galley.  But  it  was  otherwise  now  ; 
for  we  had  four  or  five  hundred  in  the  steerage  ;  and  all 
their  cooking  was  to  be  done  by  one  fire  ;  a  pretty  large  one, 
to  be  sure,  but,  nevertheless,  small  enough,  considering  the 
number  to  be  accommodated,  and  the  fact  that  the  fire  was 
only  to  be  kindled  at  certain  hours. 

For  the  emigrants  in  these  ships  are  under  a  sort  of  mar 
tial-law  ;  and  in  all  their  affairs  are  regulated  by  the  des 
potic  ordinances  of  the  captain.  And  though  it  is  evident, 
that  to  a  certain  extent  this  is  necessary,  and  even  indispens 
able  ;  yet,  as  at  sea  no  appeal  lies  beyond  the  captain,  he 
too  often  makes  unscrupulous  use  of  his  power.  And  as  for 
going  to  law  with  him  at  the  end  of  the  voyage,  you  might 
as  well  go  to  law  with  the  Czar  of  Russia. 

At  making  the  fire,  the  emigrants  take  turns ;  as  it  is 
often  very  disagreeable  work,  owing  to  the  pitching  of  the 
ship,  and  the  heaving  of  the  spray  over  the  uncovered  "  gal 
ley."  Whenever  I  had  the  morning  watch,  from  four  to 
eight,  I  was  sure  to  see  some  poor  fellow  crawling  up  from 
below  about  day-break,  and  go  to  groping  over  the  deck  after 
bits  of  rope-yarn,  or  tarred  canvas,  for  kindling-stuff.  And 
no  sooner  would  the  fire  be  fairly  made,  than  up  came  tho 
old  women,  and  men,  and  children  ;  each  armed  with  an 


330  RED  BURN: 


iron  pot  or  saucepan ;  and  invariably  a  great  tumult  en 
sued,  as  to  whose  turn  to  cook  came  next ;  sometimes  the 
more  quarrelsome  would  fight,  and  upset  each  other's  pots 
and  pans. 

Once,  an  English  lad  came  up  with  a  little  coffee-pot, 
which  he  managed  to  crowd  in  between  two  pans.  This 
done,  he  went  below.  Soon  after  a  great  strapping  Irish 
man,  in  knee-breeches  and  bare  calves,  made  his  appear 
ance  ;  and  eying  the  row  of  things  on  the  fire,  asked  whose 
coffee-pot  that  was  ;  upon  being  told,  he  removed  it,  and 
put  his  own  in  its  place ;  saying  something  about  that  in 
dividual  place  belonging  to  him ;  and  with  that,  he  turned 
aside. 

Not  long  after,  the  boy  came  along  again ;  and  seeing 
his  pot  removed,  made  a  violent  exclamation,  and  replaced 
it ;  which  the  Irishman  no  sooner  perceived,  than  he  rushed 
at  him,  with  his  fists  doubled.  The  boy  snatched  up  the 
boiling  coffee,  and  spirted  its  contents  all  about  the  fellow's 
bare  legs  ;  which  incontinently  began  to  dance  involuntary 
hornpipes  and  fandangoes,  as  a  preliminary  to  giving  chase 
to  the  boy,  who  by  this  time,  however,  had  decamped. 

Many  similar  scenes  occurred  every  day  ;  nor  did  a  single 
day  pass,  but  scores  of  the  poor  people  got  no  chance  what 
ever  to  do  their  cooking. 

This  was  bad  enough ;  but  it  was  a  still  more  miserable 
thing,  to  see  these  poor  emigrants  wrangling  and  fighting 
together  for  the  want  of  the  most  ordinary  accommodations. 
But  thus  it  is,  that  the  very  hardships  to  which  such  beings 
are  subjected,  instead  of  uniting  them,  only  tends,  by  imbit- 
tering  their  tempers,  to  set  them  against  each  other  ;  and 
thus  they  themselves  drive  the  strongest  rivet  into  the  chain, 
by  which  their  social  superiors  hold  them  subject. 

It  was  with  a  most  reluctant  hand,  that  every  evening 
in  the  second  dog-watch,  at  the  mate's  command,  I  would 
march  up  to  the  fire,  and  giving  notice  to  the  assembled 
crowd,  that  the  time  was  come  to  extinguish  it,  would 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  331 

dash  it  out  with  my  bucket  of  salt  water ;  though  many, 
who  had  long  waited  for  a  chance  to  cook,  had  now  to  go 
away  disappointed. 

The  staple  food  of  the  Irish  emigrants  was  oatmeal  and 
water,  boiled  into  what  is  sometimes  called  mush;  by  the 
Dutch  is  known  as  supaan  ;  by  sailors  burgoo  ;  by  the  New 
Englanders  hasty-pudding;  in  which  hasty-pudding,  by 
the  way,  the  poet  Barlow  found  the  materials  for  a  sort  of 
epic. 

Some  of  the  steerage  passengers,  however,  were  provided 
with  sea-biscuit,  and  other  perennial  food,  that  was  eatable 
all  the  year  round,  fire  or  no  fire. 

There  were  several,  moreover,  who  seemed  better  to  do 
in  the  world  than  the  rest ;  who  were  well  furnished  with 
hams,  cheese,  Bologna  sausages,  Dutch  herrings,  alewives, 
and  other  delicacies  adapted  to  the  contingencies  of  a  voy 
ager  in  the  steerage. 

There  was  a  little  old  Englishman  on  board,  who  had 
been  a  grocer  ashore,  whose  greasy  trunks  seemed  all  pan 
tries  ;  and  he  was  constantly  using  himself  for  a  cupboard, 
by  transferring  their  contents  into  his  own  interior.  He  was 
a  little  light  of  head,  I  always  thought.  He  particularly 
doated  on  his  long  strings  of  sausages  ;  and  would  sometimes 
take  them  out,  and  play  with  them,  wreathing  them  round 
him,  like  an  Indian  juggler  with  charmed  snakes.  What 
with  this  diversion,  and  eating  his  cheese,  and  helping  him 
self  from  an  inexhaustible  junk  bottle,  and  smoking  his  pipe, 
and  meditating,  this  crack-pated  grocer  made  time  jog  along 
with  him  at  a  tolerably  easy  pace. 

But  by  far  the  most  considerable  man  in  the  steerage,  in 
point  of  pecuniary  circumstances  at  least,  was  a  slender  lit 
tle  pale-faced  English  tailor,  who  it  seemed  had  engaged  a 
passage  for  himself  and  wife  in  some  imaginary  section  of 
the  ship,  called  the  second  cabin,  which  was  feigned  to  com 
bine  the  comforts  of  the  first  cabin  with  the  cheapness  of 
the  steerage.  But  it  turned  out  that  this  second  cabin  was 


332  RED  BURN: 


comprised  in  the  after  part  of  the  steerage  itself,  with  noth 
ing  intervening  but  a  name.  So  to  his  no  small  disgust,  he 
found  himself  herding  with  the  rabble  ;  and  his  complaints 
to  the  captain  were  unheeded. 

This  luckless  tailor  was  tormented  the  whole  voyage  by 
his  wife,  who  was  young  and  handsome  ;  just  such  a  beauty 
as  farmers'-boys  fall  in  love  with  ;  she  had  bright  eyes,  and 
red  cheeks,  and  looked  plump  and  happy. 

She  was  a  sad  coquette  ;  and  did  not  turn  away,  as  she 
was  bound  to  do,  from  the  dandy  glances  of  the  cabin  bucks, 
who  ogled  her  through  their  double-barreled  opera-glasses. 
This  enraged  the  tailor  past  telling ;  he  would  remonstrate 
with  his  wife,  and  scold  her  ;  and  lay  his  matrimonial  com 
mands  upon  her,  to  go  below  instantly,  out  of  sight.  But 
the  lady  was  not  to  be  tyrannized  over  ;  and  so  she  told  him. 
Meantime,  the  bucks  would  be  still  framing  her  in  their 
lenses,  mightily  enjoying  the  fun.  The  last  resource  of  the 
poor  tailor  would  be,  to  start  up,  and  make  a  dash  at  the 
rogues,  with  clenched  fists  ;  but  upon  getting  as  far  as  the 
mainmast,  the  mate  would  accost  him  from  over  the  rope 
that  divided  them,  and  beg  leave  to  communicate  the  fact, 
that  he  could  come  no  further. 

This  unfortunate  tailor  was  also  a  fiddler ;  and  when 
fairly  baited  into  desperation,  would  rush  for  his  instrument, 
and  try  to  get  rid  of  his  wrath  by  playing  the  most  savage, 
remorseless  airs  he  could  think  of. 

While  thus  employed,  perhaps  his  wife  would  accost 
him — 

"Billy,  my  dear ;"  and  lay  her  soft  hand  on  his  shoulder. 

But  Billy,  he  only  fiddled  the  harder. 

"  Billy,  my  love  !' 

The  bow  went  faster  and  faster. 

"  Come,  now,  Billy,  my  dear  little  fellow,  let's  make  it 
all  up  ;"  and  she  bent  over  his  knees,  looking  bewitchingly 
up  at  him,  with  her  irresistible  eyes. 

Down  went  fiddle  and  bow ;  and  the  couple  would  sit  to- 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  333 

gether  for  an  hour  or  two,  as  pleasant  and  affectionate  as 
possible. 

But  the  next  day,  the  chances  were,  that  the  old  feud 
would  he  renewed,  which  was  certain  to  be  the  case  at  the 
first  glimpse  of  an  opera-glass  from  the  cabin. 


CHAPTER  LIIL 

THE    HORATII    AND    CURIATII. 

WITH  a  slight  alteration,  I  might  begin  this  chapter  after 
the  manner  of  Livy,  in  the  24th  section  of  his  first  book : — 
"  It  happened,  that  in  each  family  were  three  twin  brothers, 
between  whom  there  was  little  disparity  in  point  of  age  or  of 
strength" 

Among  the  steerage  passengers  of  the  Highlander,  were 
two  women  from  Armagh,  in  Ireland,  widows  and  sisters, 
who  had  each  three  twin  sons,  born,  as  they  said,  on  the 
same  day. 

They  were  ten  years  old.  Each  three  of  these  six  cousins 
were  as  like  as  the  mutually  reflected  figures  in  a  kaleido 
scope  ;  and  like  the  forms  seen  in  a  kaleidoscope,  together,  as 
well  as  separately,  they  seemed  to  form  a  complete  figure. 
But,  though  besides  this  fraternal  likeness,  all  six  boys  bore 
a  strong  cousin-german  resemblance  to  each  other ;  yet,  the 
O'Briens  were  in  disposition  quite  the  reverse  of  the  O' Re 
gans.  The  former  were  a  timid,  silent  trio,  who  used  to 
revolve  around  their  mother's  waist,  and  seldom  quit  the  ma 
ternal  orbit ;  whereas,  the  O' Regans  were  "  broths  of  boys," 
full  of  mischief  and  fun,  and  given  to  all  manner  of  devil 
ment,  like  the  tails  of  the  comets. 

Early  every  morning,  Mrs.  O'Regan  emerged  from  the  steer 
age,  driving  her  spirited  twins  before  her,  like  a  riotous  herd  of 
young  steers ;  and  made  her  way  to  the  capacious  deck-tub, 
full  of  salt  water,  pumped  up  from  the  sea,  for  the  purpose 
of  washing  down  the  ship.  Three  splashes,  and  the  three 
boys  were  ducking  and  diving  together  in  the  brine ;  their 
mother  engaged  in  shampooing  them,  though  it  was  hap- 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  335 

hazard  sort  of  work  enough  ;  a  rub  here,  and  a  scrub  there, 
as  she  could  manage  to  fasten  on  a  stray  limb. 

"  Pat,  ye  divil,  hould  still  while  I  wash  ye.  Ah  !  but 
it's  you,  Teddy,  you  rogue.  Arrah,  now,  Mike,  ye  spal 
peen,  don't  be  mixing  your  legs  up  with  Pat's." 

The  little  rascals,  leaping  and  scrambling  with  delight, 
enjoyed  the  sport  mightily ;  while  this  indefatigable,  but 
merry  matron,  manipulated  them  all  over,  as  if  it  were  a 
matter  of  conscience. 

Meanwhile,  Mrs.  O'Brien  would  be  standing  on  the  boat 
swain's  locker — or  rope  and  tar-pot  pantry  in  the  vessel's 
bows — with  a  large  old  quarto  Bible,  black  with  age,  laid 
before  her  between  the  knight-heads,  and  reading  aloud  to 
her  three  meek  little  lambs. 

The  sailors  took  much  pleasure  in  the  deck-tub  perform 
ances  of  the  O' Regans,  and  greatly  admired  them  always  for 
their  archness  and  activity  ;  but  the  tranquil  O'Briens  they 
did  not  fancy  so  much.  More  especially  they  disliked  the 
grave  matron  herself;  hooded  in  rusty  black  ;  and  they  had 
a  bitter  grudge  against  her  book.  To  that,  and  the  incant 
ations  muttered  over  it,  they  ascribed  the  head  winds  that 
haunted  us ;  and  Blunt,  our  Irish  cockney,  really  believed 
that  Mrs.  O'Brien  purposely  came  on  deck  every  morning, 
in  order  to  secure  a  foul  wind  for  the  next  ensuing  twenty- 
four  hours. 

At  last,  upon  her  coming  forward  one  morning,  Max  the 
Dutchman  accosted  her,  saying  he  was  sorry  for  it,  but  if 
she  went  between  the  knight-heads  again  with  her  book,  the 
crew  would  throw  it  overboard  for  her. 

Now,  although  contrasted  in  character,  there  existed  a 
great  warmth  of  affection  between  the  two  families  of  twins, 
which  upon  this  occasion  was  curiously  manifested. 

Notwithstanding  the  rebuke  and  threat  of  the  sailor,  the 
widow  silently  occupied  her  old  place ;  and  with  her  children 
clustering  round  her,  began  her  low,  muttered  reading, 
standing  right  in  the  extreme  bows  of  the  ship,  and  slightly 


336  R  E  D  B  U  R  N : 


leaning  over  them,  as  if  addressing  the  multitudinous  waves 
from  a  floating  pulpit.  Presently  Max  came  behind  her, 
snatched  the  book  from  her  hands,  and  threw  it  overboard. 
The  widow  gave  a  wail,  and  her  boys  set  up  a  cry.  Their 
cousins,  then  ducking  in  the  water  close  by,  at  once  saw  the 
cause  of  the  cry  ;  and  springing  from  the  tub,  like  so  many 
dogs,  seized  Max  by  the  legs,  biting  and  striking  at  him  : 
which,  the  before  timid  little  O'Briens  no  sooner  perceived, 
than  they,  too,  threw  themselves  on  the  enemy,  and  the 
amazed  seaman  found  himself  baited  like  a  bull  by  all  six 
boys. 

And  here  it  gives  me  joy  to  record  one  good  thing  on  the 
part  of  the  mate.  He  saw  the  fray,  and  its  beginning  ;  and 
rushing  forward,  told  Max  that  he  would  harm  the  boys  at 
his  peril ;  while  he  cheered  them  on,  as  if  rejoiced  at  their 
giving  the  fellow  such  a  tussle.  At  last  Max,  sorely 
scratched,  bit,  pinched,  and  every  way  aggravated,  though 
of  course  without  a  serious  bruise,  cried  out  "  enough!"  and 
the  assailants  were  ordered  to  quit  him  ;  but  though  the 
three  O'Briens  obeyed,  the  three  O'R-egans  hung  on  to  him 
like  leeches,  and  had  to  be  dragged  off. 

"  There  now,  you  rascal,"  cried  the  mate,  "  throw  over 
board  another  Bible,  and  I'll  send  you  after  it  without  a 
bowline." 

This  event  gave  additional  celebrity  to  the  twins  through 
out  the  vessel.  That  morning  all  six  were  invited  to  the 
quarter-deck,  and  reviewed  by  the  cabin-passengers,  the  ladies 
manifesting  particular  interest  in  them,  as  they  always  do 
concerning  twins,  which  some  of  them  show  in  public  parks 
and  gardens,  by  stopping  to  look  at  them,  and  questioning 
their  nurses. 

"And  were  you  all  born  at  one  time?"  asked  an  old  lady, 
letting  her  eye  run  in  wonder  along  the  even  file  of  white  heads. 

"  Indeed,  an'  we  were,"  said  Teddy ;  "wasn't  we,  mother  ?" 

Many  more  questions  were  asked  and  answered,  when  a 
collection  was  taken  up  for  their  benefit  among  these  mag- 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  337 

nanimous  cabin-passengers,  which  resulted  in  starting  all  six 
boys  in  the  world  with  a  penny  apiece. 

I  never  could  look  at  these  little  fellows  without  an  inex 
plicable  feeling  coming  over  me ;  and  though  there  was 
nothing  so  very  remarkable  or  unprecedented  about  them, 
except  the  singular  coincidence  of  two  sisters  simultaneously 
making  the  world  such  a  generous  present ;  yet,  the  mere  fact 
of  there  being  twins  always  seemed  curious ;  in  fact,  to  me  at 
least,  all  twins  are  prodigies ;  and  still  I  hardly  know  why 
this  should  be  ;  for  all  of  us  in  our  own  persons  furnish 
numerous  examples  of  the  same  phenomenon.  Are  not  our 
thumbs  twins  ?  A  regular  Castor  and  Pollux  ?  And  all  of 
our  fingers  ?  Are  not  our  arms,  hands,  legs,  feet,  eyes,  ears, 
all  twins  ;  born  at  one  birth,  and  as  much  alike  as  they 
possibly  can  be  ? 

Can  it  be,  that  the  Greek  grammarians  invented  their 
dual  number  for  the  particular  benefit  of  twins  ? 

P 


CHAPTER  LIV. 

SOME   SUPERIOR   OLD    NAIL-ROD   AND   PIG-TAIL. 

IT  has  been  mentioned  how  advantageously  my  shipmates 
disposed  of  their  tobacco  in  Liverpool ;  but  it  is  to  be  related 
how  those  nefarious  commercial  speculations  of  theirs  reduced 
them  to  sad  extremities  in  the  end. 

True  to  their  improvident  character,  and  seduced  by  the 
high  prices  paid  for  the  weed  in  England,  they  had  there 
sold  off  by  far  the  greater  portion  of  what  tobacco  they  had  ; 
even  inducing  the  mate  to  surrender  the  portion  he  had 
secured  under  lock  and  key  by  command  of  the  Custom 
house  officers.  So  that  when  the  crew  were  about  two 
weeks  out,  on  the  homeward-bound  passage,  it  became  sor 
rowfully  evident  that  tobacco  was  at  a  premium. 

Now,  one  of  the  favorite  pursuits  of  sailors  during  a  dog 
watch  below  at  sea  is  cards ;  and  though  they  do  not  under 
stand  whist,  cribbage,  and  games  of  that  kidney,  yet  they 
are  adepts  at  what  is  called  "  High-low-  Jack-and-the-game" 
which  name,  indeed,  has  a  Jackish  and  nautical  flavor. 
Their  stakes  are  generally  so  many  plugs  of  tobacco,  which, 
like  rouleaux  of  guineas,  are  piled  on  their  chests  when  they 
play.  Judge,  then,  the  wicked  zest  with  which  the  High 
lander's  crew  now  shuffled  and  dealt  the  pack ;  and  how 
the  interest  curiously  and  invertedly  increased,  as  the  stakes 
necessarily  became  less  and  less ;  and  finally  resolved  them 
selves  into  "  cJiaws." 

So  absorbed,  at  last,  did  they  become  at  this  business, 
that  some  of  them,  after  being  hard  at  work  during  a  night- 
watch  on  deck,  would  rob  themselves  of  rest  below,  in  order 
to  have  a  brush  at  the  cards.  And  as  it  is  very  difficult  sleep- 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  339 

ing  in  the  presence  of  gamblers  ;  especially  if  they  chance  to 
be  sailors,  whose  conversation  at  all  times  is  apt  to  be  bois 
terous  ;  these  fellows  would  often  be  driven  out  of  the  fore 
castle  by  those  who  desired  to  rest.  They  were  obliged  to 
repair  on  deck,  and  make  a  card-table  of  it ;  and  invariably, 
in  such  cases,  there  was  a  great  deal  of  contention,  a  great 
many  ungentlemanly  charges  of  nigging  and  cheating  ;  and, 
now  and  then,  a  few  parenthetical  blows  were  exchanged. 

But  this  was  not  so  much  to  be  wondered  at,  seeing  they 
could  see  but  very  little,  being  provided  with  no  light  but 
that  of  a  midnight  sky  ;  and  the  cards,  from  long  wear  and 
rough  usage,  having  become  exceedingly  torn  and  tarry,  so 
much  so,  that  several  members  of  the  four  suits  might  have 
seceded  from  their  respective  clans,  and  formed  into  a  fifth 
tribe,  under  the  name  of  "  Tar-spots" 

Every  day  the  tobacco  grew  scarcer  and  scarcer ;  till  at 
last  it  became  necessary  to  adopt  the  greatest  possible  econ 
omy  in  its  use.  The  modicum  constituting  an  ordinary 
"  chaw,"  was  made  to  last  a  whole  day  ;  and  at  night,  per 
mission  being  had  from  the  cook,  this  self-same  "chaw"  was 
placed  in  the  oven  of  the  stove,  and  there  dried ;  so  as  to  do 
duty  in  a  pipe. 

In  the  end  not  a  plug  was  to  be  had  ;  and  deprived  of  a 
solace  and  a  stimulus,  on  which  sailors  so  much  rely  while 
at  sea,  the  crew  became  absent,  moody,  and  sadly  tormented 
with  the  hypos.  They  were  something  like  opium-smokers, 
suddenly  cut  off  from  their  drug.  They  would  sit  on  their 
chests,  forlorn  and  moping  ;  with  a  steadfast  sadness,  eying 
the  forecastle  lamp,  at  which  they  had  lighted  so  many  a 
pleasant  pipe.  With  touching  eloquence  they  recalled  those 
happier  evenings — the  time  of  smoke  and  vapor ;  when,  after 
a  whole  day's  delectable  "  chawing"  they  beguiled  them 
selves  with  their  genial,  and  most  companionable  puffs. 

One  night,  when  they  seemed  more  than  usually  cast  down 
and  disconsolate,  Blunt,  the  Irish  cockney,  started  up  suddenly 
with  an  idea  in  his  head — "  Boys,  let's  search  under  the  bunks !" 


340  R  B  D  B  U  R  N : 


Bless  you,  Blunt !  what  a  happy  conceit ! 

Forthwith,  the  chests  were  dragged  out ;  the  dark  places 
explored ;  and  two  sticks  of  nail-rod  tobacco,  and  several 
old  " chaws"  thrown  aside  by  sailors  on  some  previous  voy 
age,  were  their  cheering  reward.  They  were  impartially 
divided  by  Jackson,  who,  upon  this  occasion,  acquitted  him 
self  to  the  satisfaction  of  all. 

Their  mode  of  dividing  this  tobacco  was  the  rather  curious 
one  generally  adopted  by  sailors,  when  the  highest  possible 
degree  of  impartiality  is  desirable.  I  will  describe  it,  recom 
mending  its  earnest  consideration  to  all  heirs,  who  may  here 
after  divide  an  inheritance  ;  for  if  they  adopted  this  nautical 
method,  that  universally  slanderous  aphorism  of  Lavater 
would  be  forever  rendered  nugatory — "  Expect  not  to  under 
stand  any  man  till  you  have  divided  with  him  an  inherit 
ance.'"' 

The  nail-rods  they  cut  as  evenly  as  possible  into  as  many 
parts  as  there  were  men  to  be  supplied  ;  and  this  operation 
having  been  performed  in  the  presence  of  all,  Jackson,  plac 
ing  the  tobacco  before  him,  his  face  to  the  wall,  and  back  to 
the  company,  struck  one  of  the  bits  of  weed  with  his  knife, 
crying  out,  "  Whose  is  this  ?"  Whereupon  a  respondent, 
previously  pitched  upon,  replied,  at  a  venture,  from  the  op 
posite  corner  of  the  forecastle,  "  Blunt's ;"  and  to  Blunt  it 
went ;  and  so  on,  in  like  manner,  till  all  were  served. 

I  put  it  to  you,  lawyers — shade  of  Blackstone,  I  invoke 
you — if  a  more  impartial  procedure  could  be  imagined  than 
this? 

But  the  nail-rods  and  last-voyage  "  chaws"  were  soon 
gone,  and  then,  after  a  short  interval  of  comparative  gayety, 
the  men  again  drooped,  and  relapsed  into  gloom. 

They  soon  hit  upon  an  ingenious  device,  however — but 
not  altogether  new  among  seamen — to  allay  the  severity  of 
the  depression  under  which  they  languished.  Ropes  were 
unstranded,  and  the  yarns  picked  apart ;  and,  cut  up  into 
small  bits,  were  used  as  a  substitute  for  the  weed.  Old 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  341 

ropes  were  preferred  ;  especially  those  which  had  long  lain 
in  the  hold,  and  had  contracted  an  epicurean  dampness, 
making  still  richer  their  ancient,  cheese-like  flavor. 

In  the  middle  of  most  large  ropes,  there  is  a  straight, 
central  part,  round  which  the  exterior  strands  are  twisted. 
When  in  picking  oakum,  upon  various  occasions,  I  have 
chanced,  among  the  old  junk  used  at  such  times,  to  light 
upon  a  fragment  of  this  species  of  rope,  I  have  ever  taken, 
I  know  not  what  kind  of  strange,  nutty  delight  in  untwisting 
it  slowly,  and  gradually  coming  upon  its  deftly  hidden  and 
aromatic  "heart;"  for  so  this  central  piece  is  denominated. 

It  is  generally  of  a  rich,  tawny,  Indian  hue,  somewhat 
inclined  to  luster ;  is  exceedingly  agreeable  to  the  touch  ; 
diffuses  a  pungent  odor,  as  of  an  old  dusty  bottle  of  Port, 
newly  opened  above  ground  ;  and,  altogether,  is  an  object 
which  no  man,  who  enjoys  his  dinners,  could  refrain  from 
hanging  over,  and  caressing. 

Nor  is  this  delectable  morsel  of  old  junk  wanting  in  many 
interesting,  mournful,  and  tragic  suggestions.  Who  can  say 
in  what  gales  it  may  have  been ;  in  what  remote  seas  it 
may  have  sailed  ?  How  many  stout  masts  of  seventy-fours 
and  frigates  it  may  have  staid  in  the  tempest  ?  How  deep 
it  may  have  lain,  as  a  hawser,  at  the  bottom  of  strange 
harbors  ?  What  outlandish  fish  may  have  nibbled  at  it  in 
the  water,  and  what  uncatalogued  sea-fowl  may  have  pecked 
at  it,  when  forming  part  of  a  lofty  stay  or  a  shroud  ? 

Now,  this  particular  part  of  the  rope,  this  nice  little  "cut" 
it  was,  that  among  the  sailors  was  the  most  eagerly  sought 
after.  And  getting  hold  of  a  foot  or  two  of  old  cable,  they 
would  cut  into  it  lovingly,  to  see  whether  it  had  any  "ten 
derloin." 

For  my  own  part,  nevertheless,  I  can  not  say  that  this 
tit-bit  was  at  all  an  agreeable  one  in  the  mouth ;  however 
pleasant  to  the  -sight  of  an  antiquary,  or  to  the  nose  of  an 
epicure  in  nautical  fragrancies.  Indeed,  though  possibly  I 
might  have  been  mistaken,  I  thought  it  had  rather  an  as- 


342  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 

* : 

tringent,  acrid  taste ;  probably  induced  by  the  tar,  with 
which  the  flavor  of  all  ropes  is  more  or  less  vitiated.  But 
the  sailors  seemed  to  like  it,  and  at  any  rate  nibbled  at  it 
with  great  gusto.  They  converted  one  pocket  of  their  trowsers 
into  a  junk-shop,  and  when  solicited  by  a  shipmate  for  a 
"  chaw,"  would  produce  a  small  coil  of  rope. 

Another  device  adopted  to  alleviate  their  hardships,  was 
the  substitution  of  dried  tea-leaves,  in  place  of  tobacco,  for 
their  pipes.  No  one  has  ever  supped  in  a  forecastle  at  sea. 
without  having  been  struck  by  the  prodigious  residuum  of 
tea-leaves,  or  cabbage  stalks,  in  his  tin-pot  of  bohea.  There 
was  no  lack  of  material  to  supply  every  pipe-bowl  among  us. 

I  had  almost  forgotten  to  relate  the  jnost  noteworthy  thing 
in  this  matter ;  namely,  that  notwithstanding  the  general 
scarcity  of  the  genuine  weed,  Jackson  was  provided  with  a 
supply  ;  nor  did  it  give  out,  until  very  shortly  previous  to 
our  arrival  in  port. 

In  the  lowest  depths  of  despair  at  the  loss  of  their  precious 
solace,  when  the  sailors  would  be  seated  inconsolable  as  the 
Babylonish  captives,  Jackson  would  sit  cross-legged  in  his 
bunk,  which  was  an  upper  one,  and  enveloped  in  a  cloud 
of  tobacco  smoke,  would  look  down  upon  the  mourners  be 
low,  with  a  sardonic  grin  at  their  forlornness. 

He  recalled  to  mind  their  folly  in  selling  for  filthy  lucre, 
their  supplies  of  the  weed  ;  he  painted  their  stupidity ;  he 
enlarged  upon  the  sufferings  they  had  brought  upon  them 
selves  ;  he  exaggerated  those  sufferings,  and  every  way  de 
rided,  reproached,  twitted,  and  hooted  at  them.  No  one 
dared  to  return  his  scurrilous  animadversions,  nor  did  any 
presume  to  ask  him  to  relieve  their  necessities  out  of  his 
fullness.  On  the  contrary,  as  has  been  just  related,  they 
divided  with  him  the  nail-rods  they  found. 

The  extraordinary  dominion  of  this  one  miserable  Jackson, 
over  twelve  or  fourteen  strong,  healthy  tars,  is  a  riddle,  whose 
solution  must  be  left  to  the  philosophers. 


CHAPTER  LV. 

DRAWING   NIGH    TO    THE    LAST   SCENE    IN   JACKSON' S   CAREER. 

THE  closing  allusion  to  Jackson  in  the  chapter  preced 
ing,  reminds  me  of  a  circumstance — which,  perhaps,  should 
have  been  mentioned  before — that  after  we  had  been  at 
sea  about  ten  days,  he  pronounced  himself  too  unwell  to  do 
duty,  and  accordingly  went  below  to  his  bunk.  And  here, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  brief  intervals  of  sunning  him 
self  in  fine  weather,  he  remained  on  his  back,  or  seated 
cross-legged,  during  the  remainder  of  the  homeward-bound 
passage. 

Brooding  there,  in  his  infernal  gloom,  though  nothing  but 
a  castaway  sailor  in  canvas  trowsers,  this  man  was  still  a 
picture,  worthy  to  be  painted  by  the  dark,  moody  hand  of 
Salvator.  In  any  of  that  master's  lowering  sea-pieces,  rep 
resenting  the  desolate  crags  of  Calabria,  with  a  midnight 
shipwreck  in  the  distance,  this  Jackson's  would  have  been 
the  face  to  paint  for  the  doomed  vessel's  figure-head,  seamed 
and  blasted  by  lightning. 

Though  the  more  sneaking  and  cowardly  of  my  shipmates 
whispered  among  themselves,  that  Jackson,  sure  of  his  wages, 
whether  on  duty  or  off,  was  only  feigning  indisposition,  never 
theless  it  was  plain  that,  from  his  excesses  in  Liverpool,  the 
malady  which  had  long  fastened  its  fangs  in  his  flesh,  was 
now  gnawing  into  his  vitals. 

His  cheek  became  thinner  and  yellower,  and  the  bones 
projected  like  those  of  a  skull.  His  snaky  eyes  rolled  in  red 
sockets ;  nor  could  he  lift  his  hand  without  a  violent  tremor ; 


344  REDBURN: 


while  his  racking  cough  many  a  time  startled  us  from  sleep. 
Yet  still  in  his  tremulous  grasp  he  swayed  his  scepter,  and 
ruled  us  all  like  a  tyrant  to  the  last. 

The  weaker  and  weaker  he  grew,  the  more  outrageous 
became  his  treatment  of  the  crew.  The  prospect  of  the 
speedy  and  unshunable  death  now  before  him,  seemed  to 
exasperate  his  misanthropic  soul  into  madness ;  and  as  if  he 
had  indeed  sold  it  to  Satan,  he  seemed  determined  to  die 
with  a  curse  between  his  teeth. 

I  can  never  think  of  him,  even  now,  reclining  in  his  bunk, 
and  with  short  breaths  panting  out  his  maledictions,  but  I 
am  reminded  of  that  misanthrope  upon  the  throne  of  the 
world — the  diabolical  Tiberius  at  Capreee  ;  who  even  in  his 
self-exile,  imbittered  by  bodily  pangs,  and  unspeakable  men 
tal  terrors  only  known  to  the  damned  on  earth,  yet  did  not 
give  over  his  blasphemies,  but  endeavored  to  drag  down  with 
him  to  his  own  perdition,  all  who  came  within  the  evil  spell 
of  his  power.  And  though  Tiberius  came  in  the  succession 
of  the  Caesars,  and  though  unmatchable  Tacitus  has  em 
balmed  his  carrion,  yet  do  I  account  this  Yankee  Jackson 
full  as  dignified  a  personage  as  he,  and  as  well  meriting  his 
lofty  gallows  in  history  ;  even  though  he  was  a  nameless 
vagabond  without  an  epitaph,  and  none,  but  I,  narrate  what 
he  was.  For  there  is  no  dignity  in  wickedness,  whether  in 
purple  or  rags ;  and  hell  is  a  democracy  of  devils,  where  all 
are  equals.  There,  Nero  howls  side  by  side  with  his  own 
malefactors.  If  Napoleon  were  truly  but  a  martial  mur 
derer,  I  pay  him  no  more  homage  than  I  would  a  felon. 
Though  Milton's  Satan  dilutes  our  abhorrence  with  admira 
tion,  it  is  only  because  he  is  not  a  genuine  being,  but  some 
thing  altered  from  a  genuine  original.  We  gather  not  from 
the  four  gospels  alone,  any  high-raised  fancies  concerning 
this  Satan  ;  we  only  know  him  from  thence  as  the  person 
ification  of  the  essence  of  evil,  which,  who  but  pickpockets 
and  burglars  will  admire  ?  But  this  takes  not  from  the 
merit  of  our  high-priest  of  poetry  ;  it  only  enhances  it,  that 


HIS   FIRST    VOYAGE.  345 

with  such  unmitigated  evil  for  his  material,  he  should  build 
up  his  most  goodly  structure. 

But  in  historically  canonizing  on  earth  the  condemned 
below,  and  lifting  up  and  lauding  the  illustrious  damned, 
we  do  but  make  ensamples  of  wickedness ;  and  call  upon 
ambition  to  do  some  great  iniquity,  and  be  sure  of  fame. 


CHAPTER  LVI. 

UNDER  THE  LEE  OF  THE  LONG-BOAT,  REDBURN  AND  HARRY 
HOLD  CONFIDENTIAL  COMMUNION. 

A  SWEET  thing  is  a  song ;  and  though  the  Hebrew  cap 
tives  hung  their  harps  on  the  willows,  that  -they  could  not 
sing  the  melodies  of  Palestine  before  the  haughty  beards  of 
the  Babylonians  ;  yet,  to  themselves,  those  melodies  of  other 
times  and  a  distant  land  were  sweet  as  the  June  dew  on 
Hermon. 

And  poor  Harry  was  as  the  Hebrews.  He,  too,  had  been 
carried  away  captive,  though  his  chief  captor  and  foe  was 
himself;  and  he,  too,  many  a  night,  was  called  upon  to  sing 
for  those  who  through  the  day  had  insulted  and  derided 
him. 

His  voice  was  just  the  voice  to  proceed  from  a  small, 
silken  person  like  his  ;  it  was  gentle  and  liquid,  and  mean 
dered  and  tinkled  through  the  words  of  a  song,  like  a  mu 
sical  brook  that  winds  and  wantons  by  pied  and  pansied 
margins. 

"  I  can't  sing  to-night" — sadly  said  Harry  to  the  Dutch 
man,  who  with  his  watchrnates  requested  him  to  while  away 
the  middle  watch  with  his  melody — "  I  can't  sing  to-night. 
But,  Wellingborough,"  he  whispered, — and  I  stooped  my 
ear, — "  come  you  with  me  under  the  lee  of  the  long-boat, 
and  there  I'll  hum  you  an  air." 

It  was  The  Banks  of  the  Blue  Moselle. 

Poor,  poor  Harry  !  and  a  thousand  times  friendless  and 
forlorn  !  To  be  singing  that  thing,  which  was  only  meant 
to  be  warbled  by  falling  fountains  in  gardens,  or  in  elegant 
alcoves  in  drawing-rooms, — to  be  singing  it  here — here,  as  I 
live,  under  the  tarry  lee  of  our  long-boat. 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  347 


But  he  sang,  and  sang,  as  I  watched  the  waves,  and 
peopled  them  all  with  sprites,  and  cried  "  chassez  /"  "  hands 
across/"  to  the  multitudinous  quadrilles,  all  danced  on  the 
moonlit,  musical  floor. 

But  though  it  went  so  hard  with  my  friend  to  sing  his 
^ongs  to  this  ruffian*  crew,  whom  he  hated,  even  in  his 
dreams,  till  the  foam  flew  from  his  mouth  while  he  slept ; 
yet  -at  last  I  prevailed  upon  him  to  master  his  feelings,  and 
make  them  subservient  to  his  interests.  For  so  delighted, 
even  with  the  rudest  minstrelsy,  are  sailors,  that  I  well 
knew 'Harry  possessed  a  spell  over  them,  which,  for  the  time 
at  least,  they  could  not  resist ;  and  it  might  induce  them  to 
treat  with  more  deference  the  being  who  was  capable  of 
yielding  them  such  delight.  Carlo's  organ  they  did  not  so 
much  care  for  ;  but  the  voice  of  my  Bury  blade  was  an 
accordeon  in  their  ears. 

So  one  night,  on  the  windlass,  he  sat  and  sang ;  and  from 
the  ribald  jests  so  common  to  sailors,  the  men  slid  into  si 
lence  at  every  verse.  Hushed,  and  more  hushed  they  grew, 
till  at  last  Harry  sat  among  them  like  Orpheus  among  the 
charmed  leopards  and  tigers.  Harmless  now  the  fangs  with 
which  they  were  wont  to  tear  my  zebra,  and  backward 
curled  in  velvet  paws  ;  and  fixed  their  once  glaring  eyes  in 
fascinated  and  fascinating  brilliancy.  Ay,  still  and  hissingly 
all,  for  a  time,  they  relinquished  their  prey. 

Now,  during  the  voyage,  the  treatment  of  the  crew  threw 
Harry  more  and  more  upon  myself  for  companionship  ;  and 
few  can  keep  constant  company  with  another,  without  re 
vealing  some,  at  least,  of  their  secrets ;  for  all  of  us  yearn 
for  sympathy,  even  if  we  do  not  for  love  ;  and  to  be  intel 
lectually  alone  is  a  thing  only  tolerable  to  genius,  whose 
cherisher  and  inspirer  is  solitude. 

But  though  my  friend  became  more  communicative  con 
cerning  his  past  career  than  ever  he  had  been  before,  yet  he 
did  not  make  plain  many  things  in  his  hitherto  but  partly 
divulged  history,  which  I  was  very  curious  to  know ;  and 


348  REDBURN: 


especially  he  never  made  the  remotest  allusion  to  aught 
connected  with  our  trip  to  London ;  while  the  oath  of  se 
crecy  by  which  he  had  bound  me  held  my  curiosity  on  that 
point  a  captive.  However,  as  it  was,  Harry  made  many 
very  interesting  disclosures  ;  and  if  he  did  not  gratify  me 
more  in  that  respect,  he  atoned  for  it  in  a  measure,  by 
dwelling  upon  the  future,  and  the  prospects,  such  as  they 
were,  which  the  future  held  out  to  him. 

He  confessed  that  he  had  no  money  but  a  few  shillings 
left  from  the  expenses  of  our  return  from  London ;  that  only 
by  selling  some  more  of  his  clothing,  could  he  pay  for  his 
first  week's  board  in  New  York  ;  and  that  he  was  altogether 
without  any  regular  profession  or  business,  upon  which,  by 
his  own  exertions,  he  could  securely  rely  for  support.  And 
yet,  he  told  me  that  he  was  determined  never  again  to  re 
turn  to  England ;  and  that  somewhere  in  America  he  must 
work  out  his  temporal  felicity. 

"  I  have  forgotten  England,"  he  said,  "  and  never  more 
mean  to  think  of  it ;  so  tell  me,  Wellingborough,  what  am 
I  to  do  in  America  ?" 

It  was  a  puzzling  question,  and  full  of  grief  to  me,  who, 
young  though  I  was,  had  been  well  rubbed,  curried,  and 
ground  down  to  fine  powder  in  the  hopper  of  an  evil  fortune, 
and  who  therefore  could  sympathize  with  one  in  similar  cir 
cumstances.  For  though  we  may  look  grave  and  behave 
kindly  and  considerately  to  a  friend  in  calamity ;  yet,  if  we 
have  never  actually  experienced  something  like  the  woe  that 
weighs  him  down,  we  can  not  with  the  best  grace  proffer 
our  sympathy.  And  perhaps  there  is  no  true  sympathy 
but  between  equals  ;  and  it  may  be,  that  we  should  distrust 
that  man's  sincerity,  who  stoops  to  condole  with  us. 

So  Harry  and  I,  two  friendless  wanderers,  beguiled  many 
a  long  watch  by  talking  over  our  common  affairs.  But 
inefficient,  as  a  benefactor,  as  I  certainly  was ;  still,  being 
an  American,  and  returning  to  my  home  ;  even  as  he  was  a 
stranger,  and  hurrying  from  his  ;  therefore,  I  stood  toward 


HIS  FIRST   VOYAGE.  349 

him  in  the  attitude  of  the  prospective  doer  of  the  honors  of 
my  country  ;  I  accounted  him  the  nation's  guest.  Hence,  I 
esteemed  it  more  befitting,  that  I  should  rather  talk  with 
him,  than  he  with  me  :  that  his  prospects  and  plans  should 
engage  our  attention,  in  preference  to  my  own. 

Now,  seeing  that  Harry  was  so  brave  a  songster,  and 
could  sing  such  bewitching  airs~:  I  suggested  whether  his 
musical  talents  could  not  be  turned  to  account.  The  thought 
struck  him  most  favorably- — "Gad,  my  boy,  you  have  hit  it, 
you  have,"  and  then  he  went  on  to  mention,  that  in  some 
places  in  England,  it  was  customary  for  two  or  three  young 
men  of  highly  respectable  families,  of  undoubted  antiquity, 
but  unfortunately  in  lamentably  decayed  circumstances, 
and  thread-bare  coats  ;— it  was  customary  for  two  or  three 
young  gentlemen,  so  situated,  to  obtain  their  livelihood 
by  their  voices :  coining  their  silvery  songs  into  silvery  shil 
lings. 

They  wandered  from  door  to  door,  and  rang  the  bell — 
Are  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  in  ?  Seeing  them  at  least 
gentlemanly  looking,  if  not  sumptuously  appareled,  the 
servant  generally  admitted  them  at  once ;  and  when  the 
people  entered  to  greet  them,  their  spokesman  would  rise 
with  a  gentle  bow,  and  a  smile,  and  say,  We  come,  ladies 
and  gentlemen,  to  sing  you  a  song  :  ive  are  singers,  at  your 
service.  And  so,  without  waiting  reply,  forth  they  burst 
into  song ;  and  having  most  mellifluous  voices,  enchanted 
and  transported  all  auditors ;  so  much  so,  that  at  the  con 
clusion  of  the  entertainment,  they  very  seldom  failed  to  be 
well  recompensed,  and  departed  with  an  invitation  to  return 
again,  and  make  the  occupants  of  that  dwelling  once  more 
delighted  and  happy. 

"  Could  not  something  of  this  kind,  now,  be  done  in  New 
York?"  said  Harry,  "or  are  there  no  parlors  with  ladies  in 
them,  there  ?"  he  anxiously  added. 

Again  I  assured  him,  as  I  had  often  done  before,  that 
New  York  was  a  civilized  and  enlightened  town ;  with  a 


350  RED  BURN: 


large  population,  fine  streets,  fine  houses,  nay,  plenty  of 
omnibuses  ;  and  that  for  the  most  part,  he  would  almost 
think  himself  in  England ;  so  similar  to  England,  in  essen 
tials,  was  this  outlandish  America  that  haunted  him. 

I  could  not  but  be  struck — and  had  I  not  been,  from  my 
birth,  as  it  were,  a  cosmopolite — I  had  been  amazed  at  his 
skepticism  with  regard  to  the  civilization  of  my  native  land. 
A  greater  patriot  than  myself  might  have  resented  his  insin 
uations.  He  seemed  to  think  that  we  Yankees  lived  in 
wigwams,  and  wore  bear-skins.  After  all,  Harry  was  a 
spice  of  a  Cockney,  and  had  shut  up  his  Christendom  in 
London. 

Having  then  assured  him,  that  I  could  see  no  reason,  why 
he  should  not  play  the  troubadour  in  New  York,  as  well  as 
elsewhere ;  he  suddenly  popped  upon  me  the  question, 
whether  I  would  not  join  him  in  the  enterprise  ;  as  it 
would  be  quite  out  of  the  question  to  go  alone  on  such  a 
business. 

Said  I,  "  My  dear  Bury,  I  have  no  more  voice  for  a  ditty, 
than  a  dumb  man  has  for  an  oration.  Sing?  Such  Mac 
adamized  lungs  have  I,  that  I  think  myself  well  off,  that  I 
can  talk  ;  let  alone  nightingaling." 

So  that  plan  was  quashed  ;  and  by-and-by  Harry  began 
to  give  up  the  idea  of  singing  himself  into  a  livelihood. 

"  No,  I  won't  sing  for  my  mutton,"  said  he — "  what 
would  Lady  Georgiana  say  ?" 

"  If  I  could  see  her  ladyship  once,  I  might  tell  you, 
Harry,"  returned  I,  who  did  not  exactly  doubt  him,  but  felt 
ill  at  ease  for  my  bosom  friend's  conscience,  when  he  alluded 
to  his  various  noble  and  right  honorable  friends  and  rela 
tions. 

"  But  surely,  Bury,  my  friend,  you  must  write  a  clerkly 
hand,  among  your  other  accomplishments ;  and  that  at  least, 
will  be  sure  to  help  you." 

"  I  do  write  a  hand,"  he  gladly  rejoined — "  there,  look 
at  the  implement !. — do  you  not  think,  that  such  a  hand  as 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  351 

that  might  dot  an  i,  or  cross  a  t,  with  a  touching  grace  and 
tenderness  ?" 

Indeed,  but  it  did  betoken  a  most  excellent  penmanship. 
It  was  small ;  and  the  fingers  were  long  and  thin  ;  the 
knuckles  softly  rounded ;  the  nails  hemispherical  at  the  base ; 
and  the  smooth  palm  furnishing  few  characters  for  an  Egyptian 
fortune-teller  to  read.  It  was  not  as  the  sturdy  farmer's 
hand  of  Cincinnatus,  who  followed  the  plough  and  guided  the 
state ;  but  it  was  as  the  perfumed  hand  of  Petronius  Arbiter, 
that  elegant  young  buck  of  a  Roman,  who  once  cut  great 
Seneca  dead  in  the  forum. 

His  hand  alone,  would  have  entitled  my  Bury  blade  to 
the  suffrages  of  that  Eastern  potentate,  who  complimented 
Lord  Byron  upon  his  feline  fingers,  declaring  that  they 
furnished  indubitable  evidence  of  his  noble  birth.  And  so  it 
did  :  for  Lord  Byron  was  as  all  the  rest  of  us — the  son  of  a 
man.  And  so  are  the  dainty-handed,  and  wee-footed  half- 
cast  paupers  in  Lima ;  who,  if  their  hands  and  feet  were 
entitled  to  consideration,  would  constitute  the  oligarchy  of 
all  Peru. 

Folly  and  foolishness  !  to  think  that  a  gentleman  is  known 
by  his  finger-nails,  like  Nebuchadnezzar,  when  his  grew  long 
in  the  pasture  :  or  that  the  badge  of  nobility  is  to  be  found 
in  the  smallness  of  the  foot,  when  even  a  fish  has  no  foot  at 
all! 

Dandies  !  amputate  yourselves,  if  you  will ;  but  know, 
and  be  assured,  oh,  democrats,  that,  like  a  pyramid,  a  great 
man  stands  on  a  broad  base.  It  is  only  the  brittle  porcelain 
pagoda,  that  tottles  on  a  toe. 

But  though  Harry's  hand  was  lady-like  looking,  and  had 
once  been  white  as  the  queen's  cambric  handkerchief,  and 
free  from  a  stain  as  the  reputation  of  Diana  ;  yet,  his  late 
pulling  and  hauling  of  halyards  and  clew-lines,  and  his 
occasional  dabbling  in  tar-pots  and  slush-shoes,  had  somewhat 
subtracted  from  its  original  daintiness. 

Often  he  ruefully  eyed  it. 


352  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


Oh  !  hand  !  thought  Harry,  ah,  hand  !  what  have  you 
come  to  ?  Is  it  seemly,  that  you  should  be  polluted  with 
pitch,  when  you  once  handed  countesses  to  their  coaches  ? 
Is  this  the  hand  I  kissed  to  the  divine  Georgiana  ?  with 
which  I  pledged  Lady  Blessington,  and  ratified  my  bond  toj 
Lord  Lovely  ?  This  the  hand  that  Georgiana  clasped  to 
her  bosom,  when  she  vowed  she  was  mine  ? — Out  of  sight, 
recreant  and  apostate  ! — deep  down — disappear  in  this  foul 
monkey-jacket  pocket  where  I  thrust  you  ! 

After  many  long  conversations,  it  was  at  last  pretty  well 
decided,  that  upon  our  arrival  at  New  York,  some  means 
should  be  taken  among  my  few  friends  there,  to  get  Harry 
a  place  in  a  mercantile  house,  where  he  might  flourish  his 
pen,  and  gently  exercise  his  delicate  digits,  by  traversing 
some  soft  foolscap ;  in  the  same  way  that  slim,  pallid  ladies 
are  gently  drawn  through  a  park  for  an  airing. 


CHAPTER  LVII. 

ALMOST  A  FAMINE. 

"  MAMMY  !  mammy  !  come  and  see  the  sailors  eating  out 
of  little  troughs,  just  like  our  pigs  at  home."  Thus  ex 
claimed  one  of  the  steerage  children,  who  at  dinner-time 
was  peeping  down  into  the  forecastle,  where  the  crew  were 
assembled,  helping  themselves  from  the  "  kids,"  which,  in 
deed,  resemble  hog-troughs  not  a  little. 

"  Pigs,  is  it  ?"  coughed  Jackson,  from  his  bunk,  where  he 
sat  presiding  over  the  banquet,  but  not  partaking,  like  a  devil 
who  had  lost  his  appetite  by  chewing  sulphur. — "  Pigs,  is 
it  ? — and  the  day  is  close  by,  ye  spalpeens,  when  you'll  want 
to  be  after  taking  a  sup  at  our  troughs  !" 

This  malicious  prophecy  proved  true. 

As  day  followed  day  without  glimpse  of  shore  or  reef,  and 
head  winds  drove  the  ship  back,  as  hounds  a  deer;  the  im 
providence  and  shortsightedness  of  the  passengers  in  the 
steerage,  with  regard  to  their  outfits  for  the  voyage,  began 
to  be  followed  by  the  inevitable  results. 

Many  of  them  at  last  went  aft  to  the  mate,  saying  that 
they  had  nothing  to  eat,  their  provisions  were  expended,  and 
they  must  be  supplied  from  the  ship's  stores,  or  starve. 

This  was  told  to  the  captain,  wfyo  was  obliged  to  issue  a 
ukase  from  the  cabin,  that  every  steerage  passenger,  whose 
destitution  was  demonstrable,  should  be  given  one  sea-biscuit 
and  two  potatoes  a  day  ;  a  sort  of  substitute  for  a  muffin  and 
a  brace  of  poached  eggs. 

But  this  scanty  ration  was  quite  insufficient  to  satisfy 
their  hunger  :  hardly  enough  to  satisfy  the  necessities  of  a 


354  RED  BURN: 


healthy  adult.  The  consequence  was,  that  all  day  long, 
and  all  through  the  night,  scores  of  the  emigrants  went 
about  the  decks,  seeking  what  they  might  devour.  They 
plundered  the  chicken-coop ;  and  disguising  the  fowls,  cooked 
them  at  the  public  galley.  They  made  inroads  upon  the 
pig-pen  in  the  boat,  and  carried  off  a  promising  young  shoat : 
him  they  devoured  raw,  not  venturing  to  make  an  incognito 
of  his  carcass ;  they  prowled  about  the  cook's  caboose,  till  he 
threatened  them  with  a  ladle  of  scalding  water  ;  they  way 
laid  the  steward  on  his  regular  excursions  from  the  cook  to 
the  cabin ;  they  hung  round  the  forecastle,  to  rob  the  bread- 
barge  ;  they  beset  the  sailors,  like  beggars  in  the  streets, 
craving  a  mouthful  in  the  name  of  the  Church. 

At  length,  to  such  excesses  were  they  driven,  that  the 
Grand  Russian,  Captain  Riga,  issued  another  ukase,  and  to 
this  effect :  Whatsoever  emigrant  is  found  guilty  of  stealing, 
the  same  shall  be  tied  into  the  rigging  and  flogged. 

Upon  this,  there  were  secret  movements  in  the  steerage, 
which  almost  alarmed  me  for  the  safety  of  the  ship  ;  but 
nothing  serious  took  place,  after  all ;  and  they  even  acqui 
esced  in,  or  did  not  resent,  a  singular  punishment  which  the 
captain  caused  to  be  inflicted  upon  a  culprit  of  their  clan,  as 
a  substitute  for  a  flogging.  For  no  doubt  he  thought  that 
such  rigorous  discipline  as  that  might  exasperate  five  hun 
dred  emigrants  into  an  insurrection. 

A  head  was  fitted  to  one  of  the  large  deck-tubs — the  half  of 
a  cask  ;  and  into  this  head  a  hole  was  cut ;  also,  two  smaller 
holes  in  the  bottom  of  the  tub.  The  head — divided  in  the 
middle,  across  the  diameter  of  the  orifice — was  now  fitted 
round  the  culprit's  neck ;  and  he  was  forthwith  coopered  up 
into  the  tub,  which  rested  on  his  shoulders,  while  his  legs 
protruded  through  the  holes  in  the  bottom. 

It  was  a  burden  to  carry ;  but  the  man  could  walk  with 
it ;  and  so  ridiculous  was  his  appearance,  that  spite  of  the 
indignity,  he  himself  laughed  with  the  rest  at  the  figure  he 
cut. 


HIS   FIRST   VOYAGE.  355 

"  Now,  Pat,  my  boy,"  said  the  mate,  "  fill  that  big  wood- 
en  belly  of  yours,  if  you  can." 

Compassionating  his  situation,  our  old  "  doctor"  used  to 
give  him  alms  of  food,  placing  it  upon  the  cask-head  before 
him ;  till  at  last,  when  the  time  for  deliverance  came,  Pat 
protested  against  mercy,  and  would  fain  have  continued 
playing  Diogenes  in  the  tub  for  the  lest  of  this  starving 
voyage. 


CHAPTER  X.VIIL 

THOUGH  THE  HIGHLANDER  PUTS  INTO  NO  HARBOR  AS  YET  J 
SHE  HERE  AND  THERE  LEAVES  MANY  OF  HER  PASSENGERS 
BEHIND. 

ALTHOUGH  fast-sailing  ships,  blest  with  prosperous  breezes, 
have  frequently  made  the  run  across  the  Atlantic  in  eighteen 
days  ;  vet,  it  is  not  uncommon  for  other  vessels  to  be  forty, 
or  fifty,  and  even  sixty,  seventy,  eighty,  and  ninety  days,  in 
making  the  same  passage.  Though  in  the  latter  cases,  some 
signal  calamity  or  incapacity  must  occasion  so  great  a  de 
tention.  It  is  also  true,  that  generally  the  passage  out  from 
America  is  shorter  than  the  return ;  which  is  to  be  ascribed 
to  the  prevalence  of  westerly  winds. 

We  had  been  outside  of  Cape  Clear  upward  of  twenty 
days,  still  harassed  by  head- winds,  though  with  pleasant 
weather  upon  the  whole,  when  we  were  visited  by  a  succes 
sion  of  rain  storms,  which  lasted  the  greater  part  of  a  week. 

During  this  interval,  the  emigrants  were  obliged  to  remain 
below  ;  but  this  was  nothing  strange  to  some  of  them  ;  who, 
not  recovering,  while  at  sea,  from  their  first  attack  of  sea 
sickness,  seldom  or  never  made  their  appearance  on  deck, 
during  the  entire  passage. 

During  the  week,  now  in  question,  fire  was  only  once 
made  in  the  public  galley.  This  occasioned  a  good  deal  of 
domestic  work  to  be  done  in  the  steerage,  which  otherwise 
would  have  been  done  in  the  open  air.  When  the  lulls  of 
the  rain-storms  would  intervene,  some  unusually  cleanly 
emigrant  would  climb  to  the  deck,  with  a  bucket  of  slops,  to 
toss  into  the  sea.  No  experience  seemed  sufficient  to  instruct 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  357 

some  of  these  ignorant  people  in  the  simplest,  and  most 
elemental  principles  of  ocean-life.  Spite  of  all  lectures  on 
the  subject,  several  would  continue  to  shun  the  leeward  side 
of  the  vessel,  with  their  slops.  One  morning,  when  it  was 
blowing  very  fresh,  a  simple  fellow  pitched  over  a  gallon  or 
two  of  something  to  windward.  Instantly  it  flew  back  in 
his  face  ;  and  also,  in  the  face  of  the  chief  mate,  who  hap 
pened  to  be  standing  by  at  the  time.  The  offender  was 
collared,  and  shaken  on  the  spot ;  and  ironically  commanded, 
never,  for  the  future,  to  throw  any  thing  to  windward  at  sea, 
but  fine  ashes  and  scalding  hot  water. 

During  the  frequent  hard  blows  we  experienced,  the 
hatchways  on  the  steerage  were,  at  intervals,  hermetically 
closed  ;  sealing  down  in  their  noisome  den,  those  scores  of 
human  beings.  It  was  something  to  be  marveled  at,  that 
the  shocking  fate,  which,  but  a  short  time  ago.  overtook  the 
poor  passengers  in  a  Liverpool  steamer  in  the  Channel, 
during  similar  stormy  weather,  and  under  similar  treatment, 
did  not  overtake  some  of  the  emigrants  of  the  Highlander. 

Nevertheless,  it  was,  beyond  question,  this  noisome  con 
finement  in  so  close,  unventilated,  and  crowded  a  den  :  joined 
to  the  deprivation  of  sufficient  food,  from  which  many  were 
suffering ;  which,  helped  by  their  personal  uncleanliness, 
brought  on  a  malignant  fever. 

The  first  report  was,  that  two  persons  were  affected.  No 
sooner  was  it  known,  than  the  mate  promptly  repaired  to 
the  medicine-chest  in  the  cabin  :  and  with  the  remedies 
deemed  suitable,  descended  into  the  steerage.  But  the 
medicines  proved  of  no  avail ;  the  invalids  rapidly  grew 
worse  ;  and  two  more  of  the  emigrants  became  infected. 

Upon  this,  the  captain  himself  went  to  see  them  ;  and 
returning,  sought  out  a  certain  alleged  physician  among  the 
cabin-passengers  ;  begging  him  to  wait  upon  the  sufferers ; 
hinting  that,  thereby,  he  might  prevent  the  disease  from 
extending  into  the  cabin  itself.  But  this  person  denied 
being  a  physician  ;  and  from  fear  of  contagion — though  he 


358  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


did  not  confess  that  to  be  the  motive — refused  even  to  enter 
the  steerage. 

The  cases  increased  :  the  utmost  alarm  spread  through 
the  ship  :  and  scenes  ensued,  over  which,  for  the  most  part, 
a  vail  must  be  drawn  ;  for  such  is  the  fastidiousness  of  some 
readers,  that,  many  times,  they  must  lose  the  most  striking 
incidents  in  a  narrative  like  mine. 

Many  of  the  panic-stricken  emigrants  would  fain  now  have 
domiciled  on  deck ;  but  being  so  scantily  clothed,  the 
wretched  weather — wet,  cold,  and  tempestuous — drove  the 
best  part  of  them  again  below.  Yet  any  other  human 
beings,  perhaps,  would  rather  have  faced  the  most  outrageous 
storm,  than  continued  to  breathe  the  pestilent  air  of  the 
steerage.  But  some  of  these  poor  people  must  have  been  so 
used  to  the  most  abasing  calamities,  that  the  atmosphere  of 
a  lazar-house  almost  seemed  their  natural  air. 

The  first  four  cases  happened  to  be  in  adjoining  bunks  ; 
and  the  emigrants  who  slept  in  the  farther  part  of  the  steer 
age,  threw  up  a  barricade  in  front  of  those  bunks  ;  so  as  to 
cut  off  communication.  But  this  was  no  sooner  reported  to 
the  captain,  than  he  ordered  it  to  be  thrown  down  ;  since 
it  could  be  of  no  possible  benefit  ;  but  would  only  make  still 
worse,  what  was  already  direful  enough. 

It  was  not  till  after  a  good  deal  of  mingled  threatening 
and  coaxing,  that  the  mate  succeeded  in  getting  the  sailors 
below,  to  accomplish  the  captain's  order. 

The  sight  that  greeted  us,  upon  entering,  was  wretched 
indeed.  It  was  like  entering  a  crowded  jail.  From  the 
rows  of  rude  bunks,  hundreds  of  meager,  begrimed  faces 
were  turned  upon  us ;  while  seated  upon  the  chests,  were 
scores  of  unshaven  men,  smoking  tea-leaves,  and  creating  a 
suffocating  vapor.  But  this  vapor  was  better  than  the 
native  air  of  the  place,  which  from  almost  unbelievable 
causes,  was  foetid  in  the  extreme.  In  every  corner,  the 
females  were  huddled  together,  weeping  and  lamenting ; 
children  were  asking  bread  from  their  mothers,  who  had 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  359 

none  to  give  ;  and  old  men,  seated  upon  the  floor,  were 
leaning  back  against  the  heads  of  the  water-casks,  with 
closed  eyes  and  fetching  their  breath  with  a  gasp. 

At  one  end  of  the  place  was  seen  the  barricade,  hiding 
the  invalids  ;  while — notwithstanding  the  crowd — in  front 
of  it  was  a  clear  area,  which  the  fear  of  contagion  had  left 
open. 

"  That  bulkhead  must  come  down,"  cried  the  mate,  in  a 
voice  that  rose  above  the  din.  "  Take  hold  of  it,  boys." 

But  hardly  had  we  touched  the  chests  composing  it, 
when  a  crowd  of  pale-faced,  infuriated  men  rushed  up  ;  and 
with  terrific  howls,  swore  they  would  slay  us,  if  we  did  not 
desist. 

"  Haul  it  down  !"  roared  the  mate. 

But  the  sailors  fell  back,  murmuring  something  about 
merchant  seamen  having  no  pensions  in  case  of  being  maim 
ed,  and  they  had  not  shipped  to  fight  fifty  to  one.  Further 
efforts  were  made  by  the  mate,  who  at  last  had  recourse  to 
entreaty  ;  but  it  would  not  do  ;  and  we  were  obliged  to  de 
part,  without  achieving  our  object. 

About  four  o'clock  that  morning,  the  first  four  died. 
They  were  all  men  ;  and  the  scenes  which  ensued  were 
frantic  in  the  extreme.  Certainly,  the  bottomless  profound 
of  the  sea,  over  which  we  were  sailing,  concealed  nothing 
more  frightful. 

Orders  were  at  once  passed  to  bury  the  dead.  But  this 
was  unnecessary.  By  their  own  countrymen,  they  were  torn 
from  the  clasp  of  their  wives,  rolled  in  their  own  bedding, 
with  ballast-stones,  and  with  hurried  rites,  were  dropped  into 
the  ocean. 

At  this  time,  ten  more  men  had  caught  the  disease  ;  and 
with  a  degree  of  devotion  worthy  all  praise,  the  mate  at 
tended  them  with  his  medicines ;  but  the  captain  did  not 
again  go  down  to  them. 

It  was  all-important  now  that  the  steerage  should  be 
purified  ;  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  rains  and  squalls,  which 


360  REDBURN: 


would  have  made  it  madness  to  turn  such  a  number  of  women 
and  children  upon  the  wet  and  unsheltered  decks,  the  steerage 
passengers  would  have  been  ordered  above,  and  their  den 
have  been  given  a  thorough  cleansing.  But,  for  the  present, 
this  was  out  of  the  question.  The  sailors  peremptorily  re 
fused  to  go  among  the  defilements  to  remove  them  ;  and  so 
besotted  were  the  greater  part  of  the  emigrants  themselves, 
that  though  the  necessity  of  the  case  was  forcibly  painted  to 
them,  they  would  not  lift  a  hand  to  assist  in  what  seemed 
their  own  salvation. 

The  panic  in  the  cabin  was  now  very  great ;  and  for  fear 
of  contagion  to  themselves,  the  cabin  passengers  would  fain 
have  made  a  prisoner  of  the  captain,  to  prevent  him  from 
going  forward  beyond  the  mainmast.  Their  clamors  at  last 
induced  him  to  tell  the  two  mates,  that  for  the  present  they 
must  sleep  and  take  their  meals  elsewhere  than  in  their  old 
quarters,  which  communicated  with  the  cabin. 

On  land,  a  pestilence  is  fearful  enough  ;  but  there,  many 
can  flee  from  an  infected  city  ;  whereas,  in  a  ship,  you  are 
locked  and  bolted  in  the  very  hospital  itself.  Nor  is  there 
any  possibility  of  escape  from  it ;  and  in  so  small  and  crowd 
ed  a  place,  no  precaution  can  effectually  guard  against  con 
tagion. 

Horrible  as  the  sights  of  the  steerage  now  were,  the  cabin, 
perhaps,  presented  a  scene  equally  despairing.  Many,  who 
had  seldom  prayed  before,  now  implored  the  merciful  heav 
ens,  night  and  day,  for  fair  winds  and  fine  weather.  Trunks 
were  opened  for  Bibles ;  and  at  last,  even  prayer-meetings 
were  held  over  the  very  table  across  which  the  loud  jest  had 
been  so  often  heard. 

Strange,  though  almost  universal,  that  the  seemingly 
nearer  prospect  of  that  death  which  any  body  at  any  time 
may  die,  should  produce  these  spasmodic  devotions,  when  an 
everlasting  Asiatic  Cholera  is  forever  thinning  our  ranks ; 
and  die  by  death  we  all  must  at  last. 

On  the  second  day,  seven  died,  one  of  whom  was  the  little 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  361 

tailor  :  on  the  third,  four  ;  on  the  fourth,  six,  of  whom  one 
was  the  Greenland  sailor,  and  another,  a  woman  in  the 
cabin,  whose  death,  however,  was  afterward  supposed  to 
have  been  purely  induced  by  her  fears.  These  last  deaths 
brought  the  panic  to  its  height ;  and  sailors,  officers,  cabin- 
passengers,  and  emigrants — all  looked  upon  each  other  like 
lepers.  All  but  the  only  true  leper  among  us — the  mariner 
Jackson,  who  seemed  elated  with  the  thought,  that  for  him 
— already  in  the  deadly  clutches  of  another  disease — no 
danger  was  to  be  apprehended  from  a  fever  which  only 
swept  off  the  comparatively  healthy.  Thus,  in  the  midst  of 
the  despair  of  the  healthful,  this  incurable  invalid  was  not 
cast  down ;  not,  at  least,  by  the  same  considerations  that 
appalled  the  rest. 

And  still,  beneath  a  gray,  gloomy  sky,  the  doomed  craft 
beat  on  ;  now  on  this  tack,  now  on  that  ;  battling  against 
hostile  blasts,  and  drenched  in  rain  and  spray ;  scarcely 
making  an  inch  of  progress  toward  her  port. 

Oh  the  sixth  morning,  the  weather  merged  into  a  gale, 
to  which  we  stripped  our  ship  to  a  storm-stay-sail.  In  ten 
hours'  time,  the  waves  ran  in  mountains  ;  and  the  High 
lander  rose  and  fell  like  some  vast  buoy  on  the  water. 
Shrieks  and  lamentations  were  driven  to  leeward,  and 
drowned  in  the  roar  of  the  wind  among  the  cordage  ;  while 
we  gave  to  the  gale  the  blackened  bodies  of  five  more  of  the 
dead. 

But  as  the  dying  departed,  the  places  of  two  of  them  were 
filled  in  the  rolls  of  humanity,  by  the  birth  of  two  infants, 
whom  the  plague,  panic,  and  gale  had  hurried  into  the 
world  before  their  time.  The  first  cry  of  one  of  these 
infants,  was  almost  simultaneous  with  the  splash  of  its 
father's  body  in  the  sea.  Thus  we  come  and  we  go.  But, 
surrounded  by  death,  both  mothers  and  babes  survived. 

At  midnight,  the  wind  went  down  ;  leaving  a  long,  roll 
ing  sea  ;  and,  for  the  first  time  in  a  week,  a  clear,  starry  sky. 

In  the   first   morning-watch,  I  sat  with   Harry  on   the 

Q 


362  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


windlass,  watching  the  billows ;  which,  seen  in  the  night, 
seemed  real  hills,  upon  which  fortresses  might  have  been 
built ;  and  real  valleys,  in  which  villages,  and  groves,  and 
gardens,  might  have  nestled.  It  was  like  a  landscape  in 
Switzerland ;  for  down  into  those  dark,  purple  glens,  often 
tumbled  the  white  foam  of  the  wave-crests,  like  avalanches  ; 
while  the  seething  and  boiling  that  ensued,  seemed  the 
swallowing  up  of  human  beings. 

By  afternoon  of  the  next  day  this  heavy  sea  subsided ; 
and  we  bore  down  on  the  waves,  with  all  our  canvas  set ; 
stun'-sails  alow  and  aloft ;  and  our  best  steersman  at  the 
helm ;  the  captain  himself  at  his  elbow  ; — bowling  along, 
with  a  fair,  cheering  breeze  over  the  taffrail. 

The  decks  were  cleared,  and  swabbed  bone-dry  ;  and  then, 
all  the  emigrants  who  were  not  invalids,  poured  themselves 
out  on  deck,  snuffing  the  delightful  air,  spreading  their  damp 
bedding  in  the  sun,  and  regaling  themselves  with  the  gen 
erous  charity  of  the  captain,  who  of  late  had  seen  fit  to 
increase  their  allowance  of  food.  A  detachment  of  them 
now  joined  a  band  of  the  crew,  who  proceeding  into  the 
steerage,  with  buckets  and  brooms,  gave  it  a  thorough 
cleansing,  sending  on  deck,  I  know  not  how  many  buckets- 
ful  of  defilements.  It  was  more  like  cleaning  out  a  stable, 
than  a  retreat  for  men  and  women.  This  day  we  buried 
three  ;  the  next  day  one,  and  then  the  pestilence  left  us, 
with  seven  convalescent ;  who,  placed  near  the  opening  of 
the  hatchway,  soon  rallied  under  the  skillful  treatment,  and 
even  tender  care  of  the  mate. 

But  even  under  this  favorable  turn  of  affairs,  much  ap 
prehension  was  still  entertained,  lest  in  crossing  the  Grand 
Banks  of  Newfoundland,  the  fogs,  so  generally  encountered 
there,  might  bring  on  a  return  of  the  fever.  But,  to  the  joy 
of  all  hands,  our  fair  wind  still  held  on  ;  and  we  made  a 
rapid  run  across  these  drea'ded  shoals,  and  southward  steered 
for  New  York. 

Our  days  were  now  fair  and  mild,  and  though  the  wind 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  363 

abated,  yet  we  still  ran  our  course  over  a  pleasant  sea. 
The  steerage-passengers — at  least  by  far  the  greater  number 
— wore  a  still,  subdued  aspect,  though  a  little  cheered  by 
the  genial  air,  and  the  hopeful  thought  of  soon  reaching 
their  port.  But  those  who  had  lost  fathers,  husbands,  wives, 
or  children,  needed  no  crape,  to  reveal  to  others,  who  they 
were.  Hard  and  bitter  indeed  was  their  lot ;  for  with  the 
poor  and  desolate,  grief  is  no  indulgence  of  mere  sentiment, 
however  sincere,  but  a  gnawing  reality,  that  eats  into  their 
vital  beings ;  they  have  no  kind  condolers,  and  bland 
physicians,  and  troops  of  sympathizing  friends  ;  and  they 
must  toil,  though  to-morrow  be  the  burial,  and  their  pall 
bearers  throw  down  the  hammer  to  lift  up  the  coffin. 

How,  then,  with  these  emigrants,  who,  three  thousand 
miles  from  home,  suddenly  found  themselves  deprived  of 
brothers  and  husbands,  with  but  a  few  pounds,  or  perhaps 
but  a  few  shillings,  to  buy  food,  in  a  strange  land  ? 

As  for  the  passengers  in  the  cabin,  who  now  so  jocund 
as  they  ?  drawing  nigh,  with  their  long  purses  and  goodly 
portmanteaus  to  the  promised  land,  without  fear  of  fate. 
One  and  all  were  generous  and  gay,  the  jelly-eyed  old 
gentleman,  before  spoken  of,  gave  a  shilling  to  the  steward. 

The  lady  who  had  died,  was  an  elderly  person,  an  Amer 
ican,  returning  from  a  visit  to  an  only  brother  in  Lon 
don.  She  had  no  friend  or  relative  on  board,  hence,  as 
there  is  little  mourning  for  a  stranger  dying  among  strangers, 
her  memory  had  been  buried  with  her  body. 

But  the  thing  most  worthy  of  note  among  these  now 
light-hearted  people  in  feathers,  was  the  gay  way  in  which 
some  of  them  bantered  others,  upon  the  panic  into  which 
nearly  all  had  been  thrown. 

And  since,  if  the  extremest  fear  of  a  crowd  in  a  panic  of 
peril,  proves  grounded  on  causes  sufficient,  they  must  then 
indeed  come  to  perish  ; — therefore  it  is,  that  at  such  times 
they  must  make  up  their  minds  either  to  die,  or  else  survive 
to  be  taunted  by  their  fellow-men  with  their  fear.  For 


364  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


except  in  extraordinary  instances  of  exposure,  there  are  few 
living  men,  who,  at  bottom,  are  not  very  slow  to  admit  that 
any  other  living  men  have  ever  been  very  much  nearer  death 
than  themselves.  Accordingly,  craven  is  the  phrase  too 
often  applied  to  any  one  who,  with  however  good  reason, 
has  been  appalled  at  the  prospect  of  sudden  death,  and  yet 
lived  to  escape  it.  Though,  should  he  have  perished  in  con 
formity  with  his  fears,  not  a  syllable  of  craven  would  you 
hear.  This  is  the  language  of  one,  who  more  than  once  has 
beheld  the  scenes,  -whence  these  principles  have  been  de 
duced.  The  subject  invites  much  subtle  speculation ;  for 
in  every  being's  ideas  of  death,  and  his  behavior  when  it 
suddenly  menaces  him,  lies  the  best  index  to  his  life  and  his 
faith.  Though  the  Christian  era  had  not  then  begun, 
Socrates  died  the  death  of  the  Christian  ;  and  though  Hume 
was  not  a  Christian  in  theory,  yet  he,  too,  died  the  death  of 
the  Christian, — humble,  composed,  without  bravado  ;  and 
though  the  most  skeptical  of  philosophical  skeptics,  yet  full 
of  that  firm,  creedless  faith,  that  embraces  the  spheres. 
Seneca  died  dictating  to  posterity  ;  Petronius  lightly  discours 
ing  of  essences  and  love-songs  ;  and  Addison,  calling  upon 
Christendom  to  behold  how  calmly  a  Christian  could  die  ; 
but  not  even  the  last  of  these  three,  perhaps,  died  the  best 
death  of  the  Christian. 

The  cabin  passenger  who  had  used  to  read  prayers  while 
the  rest  kneeled  against  the  transoms  and  settees,  was  one 
of  the  merry  young  sparks,  who  had  occasioned  such  agonies 
of  jealousy  to  the  poor  tailor,  now  no  more.  In  his  rakish 
vest,  and  dangling  watch-chain,  this  same  youth,  with  all 
the  awfulness  of  fear,  had  led  the  earnest  petitions  of  his 
companions  ;  supplicating  mercy,  where  before  he  had 
never  solicited  the  slightest  favor.  More  than  once  had  he 
been  seen  thus  engaged  by  the  observant  steersman  at  the 
helm :  who  looked  through  the  little  glass  in  the  cabin 
bulk-head. 

But   this    youth   was    an   April    man ;    the   storm   had 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  365 

departed ;  and  now  he  shone  in  the  sun,  none  braver  than 
he. 

One  of  his  jovial  companions  ironically  advised  him  to 
enter  into  holy  orders  upon 'his  arrival  in  New  York. 

"Why  so?"  said  the  other,  "have  I  such  an  orotund 
voice  ?" 

"  No  ;"  profanely  returned  his  friend — "  but  you  are  a 
coward — just  the  man  to  be  a  parson,  and  pray." 

However  this  narrative  of  the  circumstances  attending 
the  fever  among  the  emigrants  on  the  Highlander  may 
appear  ;  and  though  these  things  happened  so  long  ago  ;  yet 
just  such  events,  nevertheless,  are  perhaps  taking  place  to 
day.  But  the  only  account  you  obtain  of  such  events,  is 
generally  contained  in  a  newspaper  paragraph,  under  the 
shipping-head.  There  is  the  obituary  of  the  destitute 
dead,  who  die  on  the  sea.  They  die,  like  the  billows  that 
break  on  the  shore,  and  no  more  are  heard  or  seen.  But 
in  the  events,  thus  merely  initialized  in  the  catalogue  of 
passing  occurrences,  and  but  glanced  at  by  the  readers  of 
news,  who  are  more  taken  up  with  paragraphs  of  fuller 
flavor ;  what  a  world  of  life  and  death,  what  a  world  of 
humanity  and  its  woes,  lies  shrunk  into  a  three-worded 
sentence  ! 

You  see  no  plague-ship  driving  through  a  stormy  sea ; 
you  hear  no  groans  of  despair  ;  you  see  no  corpses  thrown 
over  the  bulwarks  ;  you  mark  not  the  wringing  hands  and 
torn  hair  of  widows  and  orphans  : — all  is  a  blank.  And 
one  of  these  blanks  I  have  but  filled  up,  in  recounting  the 
details  of  the  Highlander's  calamity. 

Besides  that  natural  tendency,  which  hurries  into  oblivion 
the  last  woes  of  the  poor*!  other  causes  combine  to  suppress 
the  detailed  circumstances  of  disasters  like  these.  Such 
things,  if  widely  known,  operate  unfavorably  to.  the  ship, 
and  make  her  a  bad  name ;  and  to  avoid  detention  at 
quarantine,  a  captain  will  state  the  case  in  the  most  palli 
ating  light,  and  strive  to  hush  it  up,  as  much  as  he  can. 


366  EEDBURN: 


In  no  better  place  than  this,  perhaps,  can  a  few  words  be 
said,  concerning  emigrant  ships  in  general. 

Let  us  waive  that  agitated  national  topic,  as  to  whether 
such  multitudes  of  foreign  poor  should  be  landed  on  our 
American  shores ;  let  us  waive  it,  with  the  one  only  thought, 
that  if  they  can  get  here,  they  have  God's  right  to  come  ; 
though  they  bring  all  Ireland  and  her  miseries  with  them. 
For  the  whole  world  is  the  patrimony  of  the  whole  world  ; 
there  is  no  telling  who  does  not  own  a  stone  in  the  Great 
Wall  of  China.  But  we  waive  all  this ;  and  will  only 
consider,  how  best  the  emigrants  can  come  hither,  since  come 
they  do,  and  come  they  must  and  will. 

Of  late,  a  law  has  been  passed  in  Congress,  restricting 
ships  to  a  certain  number  of  emigrants,  according  to  a 
certain  rate.  If  this  law  were  enforced,  much  good  might 
be  done ;  and  so  also  might  much  good  be  done,  were  the 
English  law  likewise  enforced,  concerning  the  fixed  supply 
of  food  for  every  emigrant  embarking  from  Liverpool.  But 
it  is  hardly  to  be  believed,  that  either  of  these  laws  is 
observed. 

But  in  all  respects,  no  legislation,  even  nominally,  reaches 
the  hard  lot  of  the  emigrant.  What  ordinance  makes  it 
obligatory  upon  the  captain  of  ^a  ship,  to  supply  the  steerage- 
passengers  with  decent  lodgings,  and  give  them  light  and 
air  in  that  foul  den,  where  they  are  immured,  during  a  long 
voyage  across  the  Atlantic  ?  What  ordinance  necessitates 
him  to  place  the  galley,  or  steerage-passengers'  stove,  in  a 
dry  place  of  shelter,  where  the  emigrants  can  do  their  cook 
ing  during  a  storm,  or  wet  weather  ?  What  ordinance 
obliges  him  to  give  them  more  room  on  deck,  and  let  them 
have  an  occasional  run  fore  and  alft  ? — There  is  no  law  con 
cerning  these  things.  And  if  there  was,  who  but  some 
Howard  in  office  would  see  it  enforced  ?  and  how  seldom  is 
there  a  Howard  in  office  ! 

We  talk  of  the  Turks,  and  abhor  the  cannibals  ;  but 
may  not  some  of  them,  go  to  heaven,  before  some  of  us  ? 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  367 

We  may  have  civilized  bodies  and  yet  barbarous  souls. 
We  are  blind  to  the  real  sights  of  this  world ;  deaf  to  its 
voice ;  and  dead  to  its  death.  And  not  till  we  know,  that 
one  grief  outweighs  ten  thousand  joys,  will  we  become  what 
Christianity  is  striving  to  make  us. 


CHAPTER  LIX. 

THE   LAST   END   OP   JACKSON. 

"OFF  Cape  Cod!"  said  the  steward,  coming  forward  from 
the  quarter-deck,  where  the  captain  had  just  been  taking  his 
noon  observation  ;  sweeping  the  vast  horizon  with  his  quad 
rant,  like  a  dandy  circumnavigating  the  dress-circle  of  an 
amphitheater  with  his  glass. 

Off  Cape  Cod !  and  in  the  shore-bloom  that  came  to  us 
— even  from  that  desert  of  sand-hillocks — methought  I  could 
almost  distinguish  the  fragrance  of  the  rose-bush  my  sisters 
and  I  had  planted,  in  our  far  inland  garden  at  home.  De 
licious  odors  are  those  of  our  mother  Earth  ;  which  like  a 
flower-pot  set  with  a  thousand  shrubs,  greets  the  eager  voy 
ager  from  afar. 

The  breeze  was  stiff,  and  so  drove  us  along  that  we  turned 
over  two  broad,  blue  furrows  from  our  bows,  as  we  plowed 
the  watery  prairie.  By  night  it  was  a  reef-topsail-breeze  ; 
but  so  impatient  was  the  captain  to  make  his  port  before  a 
shift  of  wind  overtook  us,  that  even  yet  we  carried  a  main 
top-gallant-sail,  though  the  light  mast  sprung  like  a  switch. 

In  the  second  dog-watch,  however,  the  breeze  became  such, 
that  at  last  the  order  was  given  to  douse  the  top-gallant-sail, 
and  clap  a  reef  into  all  three  top-sails. 

While  the  men  were  settling  away  the  halyards  on  deck, 
and  before  they  had  begun  to  haul  out  the  reef-tackles,  to 
the  surprise  of  several.  Jackson  came  up  from  the  forecastle, 
and,  for  the  first  time  in  four  weeks  or  more,  took  hold  of  a 
rope. 

Like  most  seamen,  who  during  the  greater  part  of  a 
voyage,  have  been  off  duty  from  sickness,  he  was,  perhaps, 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  369 

desirous,  just  previous  to  entering  port,  of  reminding  the 
captain  of  his  existence,  and  also  that  he  expected  his  wages ; 
but,  alas  !  his  wages  proved  the  wages  of  sin. 

At  no  time  could  he  better  signalize  his  disposition  to 
work,  than  upon  an  occasion  like  the  present ;  which  gen 
erally  attracts  every  soul  on  deck,  from  the  captain  to  the 
child  in  the  steerage. 

His  aspect  was  damp  and  death-like  ;  the  blue  hollows 
of  His  eyes  were  like  vaults  full  of  snakes  ;  and  issuing  so 
unexpectedly  from  his  dark  tomb  in  the  forecastle,  he  looked 
like  a  man  raised  from  the  dead. 

Before  the  sailors  had  made  fast  the  reef-tackle,  Jackson 
was  tottering  up  the  rigging ;  thus  getting  the  start  of  them, 
and  securing  his  place  at  the  extreme  weather-end  of  the 
topsail-yard — which  in  reefing  is  accounted  the  post  of  honor. 
For  it  was  one  of  the  characteristics  of  this  man,  that  though 
when  on  duty  he  would  shy  away  from  mere  dull  work  in 
a  calm,  yet  in  tempest-time  he  always  claimed  the  van,  and 
would  yield  it  to  none  ;  and  this,  perhaps,  was  one  cause  of 
his  unbounded  dominion  over  the  men. 

Soon,  we  were  all  strung  along  the  main-topsail-yard  ; 
the  ship  rearing  and  plunging  under  us,  like  a  runaway 
steed ;  each  man  griping  his  reef-point,  and  sideways  leaning, 
dragging  the  sail  over  toward  Jackson,  whose  business  it  was 
to  confine  the  reef  corner  to  the  yard. 

His  -hat  and  shoes  were  off;  and  he  rode  the  yard-arm 
end,  leaning  backward  to  the  gale,  and  pulling  at  the  earing- 
rope,  like  a  bridle.  At  all  times,  this  is  a  moment  of  frantic 
exertion  with  sailors,  whose  spirits  seem  then  to  partake  of 
the  commotion  of  the  elements,  as  they  hang  in  the  gale, 
between  heaven  and  earth ;  and  then  it  is,  too,  that  they 
are  the  most  profane. 

"  Haul  out  to  windward  !"  coughed  Jackson,  with  a  blas 
phemous  cry,  and  he  threw  himself  back  with  a  violent  strain 
upon  the  bridle  in  his  hand.  But  the  wild  words  were 
hardly  out  of  his  mouth,  when  his  hands  dropped  to  his  side, 

Q* 


370  REDBURN: 


and  the  bellying  sail  was  spattered  with  a  torrent  of  blood 
from  his  lungs. 

As  the  man  next  him  stretched  out  his  arm  to  save, 
Jackson  fell  headlong  from  the  yard,  and  with  a  long  seethe, 
plunged  like  a  diver  into  the  sea. 

It  was  when  the  ship  had  rolled  to  windward,  which, 
with  the  long  projection  of  the  yard-arm  over  the  side,  made 
him  strike  far  out  upon  the  water.  His  fall  was  seen  by  the 
whole  upward-gazing  crowd  on  deck,  some  of  whom  were 
spotted  with  the  blood  that  trickled  from  the  sail,  while  they 
raised  a  spontaneous  cry,  so  shrill  and  wild,  that  a  blind  man 
might  have  known  something  deadly  had  happened. 

Clutching  our  reef-points,  we  hung  over  the  stick,  and 
gazed  down  to  the  one  white,  bubbling  spot,  which  had  closed 
over  the  head  of  our  shipmate  ;  but  the  next  minute  it  was 
brewed  into  the  common  yeast  of  the  waves,  and  Jackson 
never  arose.  We  waited  a  few  minutes,  expecting  an  order 
to  descend,  haul  back  the  fore-yard,  and  man  the  boat ;  but 
instead  of  that,  the  next  sound  that  greeted  us  was,  "  Bear 
a  hand,  and  reef  away,  men  !"  from  the  mate. 

Indeed,  upon  reflection,  it  would  have  been  idle  to  attempt 
to  save  Jackson  ;  for  besides  that  he  must  have  been  dead, 
ere  he  struck  the  sea — and  if  he  had  not  been  dead  then, 
the  first  immersion  must  have  driven  his  soul  from  his  lac 
erated  lungs — our  jolly-boat  would  have  taken  full  fifteen 
minutes  to  launch  into  the  waves. 

And  here  it  should  be  said,  that  the  thoughtless  security 
in  which  too  many  sea-captains  indulge,  would,  in  case  of 
some  sudden  disaster  befalling  the  Highlander,  have  let  us 
all  drop  into  our  graves. 

Like  most  merchant  ships,  we  had  but  two  boats  :  the 
long-boat  and  the  jolly-boat.  The  long-boat,  by  far  the 
largest  and  stoutest  of  the  two,  was  permanently  bolted 
down  to  the  deck,  by  iron  bars  attached  to  its  sides.  It 
was  almost  as  much  of  a  fixture  as  the  vessel's  keel.  It 
was  filled  with  pigs,  fowls,  firewood,  and  coals.  Over  this 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  371 


the  jolly-boat  was  capsized  without  a  thole-pin  in  the  gun 
wales  ;  its  bottom  bleaching  and  cracking  in  the  sun. 

Judge,  then,  what  promise  of  salvation  for  us,  had  we 
shipwrecked  ;  yet  in  this  state,  one  merchant  ship  out  of 
three,  keeps  its  boats.  To  be  sure,  no  vessel  full  of  emigrants, 
by  any  possible  precautions,  could  in  case  of  a  fatal  disaster 
at  sea,  hope  to  save  the  tenth  part  of  the  souls  on  board  ; 
yet  provision  should  certainly  be  made  for  a  handful  of  sur 
vivors,  to  carry  home  the  tidings  of  her  loss ;  for  even  in  the 
worst  of  the  calamities  that  befell  patient  Job,  some  one  at 
least  of  his  servants  escaped  to  report  it. 

In  a  way  that  I  never  could  fully  account  for,  the  sailors, 
in  my  hearing  at  least,  and  Harry's,  never  made  the  slightest 
allusion  to  the  departed  Jackson.  One  and  all  they  seemed 
tacitly  to  unite  in  hushing  up  his  memory  among  them. 
Whether  it  was,  that  the  severity  of  the  bondage  under  which 
this  man  held  every  one  of  them,  did  really  corrode  in  their 
secret  hearts,  that  they  thought  to  repress  the  recollection 
of  a  thing  so  degrading,  I  can  not  determine  ;  but  certain  it 
was,  that  his  death  was  their  deliverance ;  which  they  cele 
brated  by  an  elevation  of  spirits,  unknown  before.  Doubt 
less,  this  was  to  be  in  part  imputed,  however,  to  their  now 
drawing  near  to  their  port. 


CHAPTER  LX. 

HOME   AT   LAST. 

NEXT  day  was  Sunday ;  and  the  mid-day  sun  shone  upon 
a  glassy  sea. 

After  the  uproar  of  the  breeze  and  the  gale,  this  profound, 
pervading  calm  seemed  suited  to  the  tranquil  spirit  of  a  day, 
which,  in  godly  towns,  makes  quiet  vistas  of  the  most 
tumultuous  thoroughfares. 

The  ship  lay  gently  rolling  in  the  soft,  subdued  ocean 
swell ;  while  all  around  were  faint  white  spots  ;  and  nearer 
to,  broad,  milky  patches,  betokening  the  vicinity  of  scores  of 
ships,  all  bound  to  one  common  port,  and  tranced  in  one 
common  calm.  Here  the  long,  devious  wakes  from  Europe, 
Africa,  India,  and  Peru  converged  to  a  line,  which  braided 
them  all  in  one. 

Full  before  us  quivered  and  danced,  in  the  noon-day  heat 
and  mid-air,  the  green  heights  of  New  Jersey  ;  and  by  an 
optical  delusion,  the  blue  sea  seemed  to  flow  under  them. 

The  sailors  whistled  and  whistled  for  a  wind  ;  the  impa 
tient  cabin-passengers  were  arrayed  in  their  best ;  and  the 
emigrants  clustered  around  the  bows,  with  eyes  intent  upon 
the  long-sought  land. 

But  leaning  over,  in  a  reverie,  against  the  side,  my  Carlo 
gazed  down  into  the  calm,  violet  sea,  as  if  it  were  an  eye 
that  answered  his  own ;  and  turning  to  Harry,  said,  "  This 
America's  skies  must  be  down  in  the  sea ;  for,  looking  down 
in  this  water,  I  behold  what,  in  Italy,  we  also  behold  over 
head.  Ah  !  after  all,  I  find  my  Italy  somewhere,  wherever 
I  go.  I  even  found  it  in  rainy  Liverpool." 

Presently,  up  came  a  dainty  breeze,  wafting  to  us  a  white 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  373 

wing  from  the  shore- — the  pilot-boat !  Soon  a  monkey- 
jacket  mounted  the  side,  and -was  beset  by  the  captain  and 
cabin  people  for  news.  And  out  of  bottomless  pockets  came 
bundles  of  newspapers,  which  were  eagerly  caught  by'  the 
throng. 

The  captain  now  abdicated  in  the  pilot's  favor,, who 
proved  to  be  a  tiger  of  a  fellow,  keeping  us  hard  at  work, 
pulling  and  hauling  the  braces,  and  trimming  the  ship,  to 
catch  the  least  cat's-paw  of  wind. 

When,  among  sea-worn  people,  a  strange  man  from  shore 
suddenly  stands  among  them,  with  the  smell  of  the  land  in 
his  beard,  it  conveys  a  realization  of  the  vicinity  of  the 
green  grass,  that  not  even  the  distant  sight  of  the  shore  itself 
can  transcend. 

The  steerage  was  now  as  a  bedlam  ;  trunks  and  chests 
were  locked  and  tied  round  with  ropes ;  and  a  general  wash 
ing  and  rinsing  of  faces  and  hands  was  beheld.  While  this 
was  going  on,  forth  came  an  order  from  the  quarter-deck,  for 
every  bed,  blanket,  bolster,  and  bundle  of  straw  in  the  steer 
age  to  be  committed  to  the  deep. — A  command  that  was 
received  by  the  emigrants  with  dismay,  and  then  with 
wrath.  But  they  were  assured,  that  this  was  indispensable 
to  the  getting  rid  of  an  otherwise  long  detention  of  some 
weeks  at  the  quarantine.  They  therefore  reluctantly  com 
plied  ;  and  overboard  went  pallet  and  pillow.  Following 
them,  went  old  pots  and  pans,  bottles  and  baskets.  So,  all 
around,  the  sea  was  strewn  with  stufied  bed-ticks,  that  lim- 
berly  floated  on  the  waves — couches  for  all  mermaids  who 
were  not  fastidious.  Numberless  things  of  this  sort,  tossed 
overboard  from  emigrant  ships  nearing  the  harbor  of  New 
York,  drift  in  through  the  Narrows,  and  are  deposited  on  the 
shores  of  Staten  Island  ;  along  whose  eastern  beach  I  have 
often  walked,  and  speculated  upon  the  broken  jugs,  torn  pil 
lows,  and  dilapidated  baskets  at  my  feet. 

A  second  order  was  now  passed  for  the  emigrants  to  mus 
ter  their  forces,  and  give  the  steerage  a  final,  thorough  clean- 


374  RED  BURN: 


ing  with  sand  and  water.  And  to  this  they  were  incited  by 
the  same  warning  which  had  induced  them  to  make  an 
offering  to  Neptune  of  their  bedding.  The  place  was  then 
fumigated,  and  dried  with  pans  of  coals  from  the  galley  ;  so 
that  by  evening,  no  stranger  would  have  imagined,  from  her 
appearance,  that  the  Highlander  had  made  otherwise  than  a 
tidy  and  prosperous  voyage.  Thus,  some  sea-captains  take 
good  heed  that  benevolent  citizens  shall  not  get  a  glimpse 
of  the  true  condition  of  the  steerage  while  at  sea. 

That  night  it  again  fell  calm  ;  but  next  morning,  though 
the  wind  was  somewhat  against  us,  we  set  sail  for  the  Nar 
rows  ;  and  making  short  tacks,  at  last  ran  through,  almost 
bringing  our  jib-boom  over  one  of  the  forts. 

An  early  shower  had  refreshed  the  woods  and  fields,  that 
glowed  with  a  glorious  green ;  and  to  our  salted  lungs,  the 
land  breeze  was  spiced  with  aromas.  The  steerage  passen 
gers  almost  neighed  with  delight,  like  horses  brought  back 
to  spring  pastures  ;  and  every  eye  and  ear  in  the  Highlander 
was  full  of  the  glad  sights  and  sounds  of  the  shore. 

No  more  did  we  think  of  the  gale  and  the  plague  ;  nor 
turn  our  eyes  upward  to  the  stains  of  blood,  still  visible  on 
the  topsail,  whence  Jackson  had  fallen ;  but  we  fixed  our 
gaze  on  the  orchards  and  rneads,  and  like  thirsty  men, 
drank  in  all  their  dew. 

On  the  Staten  Island  side,  a  white  staff  displayed  a  pale 
yellow  flag,  denoting  the  habitation  of  the  quarantine  officer ; 
for  as  if  to  symbolize  the  yellow  fever  itself,  and  strike  a 
panic  and  premonition  of  the  black  vomit  into  every  beholder, 
all  quarantines  all  over  the  world,  taint  the  air  with  the 
streamings  of  their  fever-flag. 

But  though  the  long  rows  of  white-washed  hospitals  on  the 
hill  side  were  now  in  plain  sight,  and  though  scores  of  ships 
were  here  lying  at  anchor,  yet  no  boat  came  off  to  us ;  and 
to  our  surprise  and  delight,  on  we  sailed,  past  a  spot  which 
every  one  had  dreaded.  How  it  was  that  they  thus  let  us 
pass  without  boarding  us,  we  never  could  learn. 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  375 

Now  rose  the  city  from  out  the  bay,  and  one  by  one,  her 
spires  pierced  the  blue  ;  while  thick  and  more  thick,  ships, 
brigs,  schooners,  and  sail  boats,  thronged  around.  We  saw 
the  Hartz  Forest  of  masts  and  black  rigging  stretching  along 
the  East  River ;  and  northward,  up  the  stately  old  Hudson, 
covered  with  white  sloop-sails  like  fleets  of  swans,  we  caught 
a  far  glimpse  of  the  purple  Palisades. 

Oh  !  he  who  has  never  been  afar,  let  him  once  go  from 
home,  to  know  what  home  is.  For  as  you  draw  nigh  again 
to  your  old  native  river,  he  seems  to  pour  through  you 
with  all  his  tides,  and  in  your  enthusiasm,  you  swear  to  build 
altars  like  mile-stones,  along  both  his  sacred  banks. 

Like  the  Czar  of  all  the  Russias,  and  Siberia  to  boot, 
Captain  Riga,  telescope  in  hand,  stood  on  the  poop,  pointing 
out  to  the  passengers,  Governor's  Island,  Castle  Garden,  and 
the  Battery. 

"And  that"  said  he,  pointing  out  a  vast  black  hull 
which,  like  a  shark,  showed  tiers  of  teeth,  "that,  ladies,  is 
a  line-of-battle-ship,  the  North  Carolina." 

"  Oh,  dear  !" — and  "  Oh  my  !" — ejaculated  the  ladies  ; 
and — "Lord,  save  us,"  responded  an  old  gentleman,  who 
was  a  member  of  the  Peace  Society. 

Hurra !  hurra !  and  ten  thousand  times  hurra !  down 
goes  our  old  anchor,  fathoms  down  into  the  free  and  inde 
pendent  Yankee  mud,  one  handful  of  which  was  now  worth 
a  broad  manor  in  England. 

The  Whitehall  boats  were  around  us,  and  soon,  our  cabin 
passengers  were  all  off,  gay  as  crickets,  and  bound  for  a  late 
dinner  at  the  Astor  House ;  where,  no  doubt,  they  fired  off 
a  salute  of  champagne  corks  in  honor  of  their  own  arrival. 
Only  a  very  few  of  the  steerage  passengers,  however,  could 
afford  to  pay  the  high  price  the  watermen  demanded  for 
carrying  them  ashore  ;  so  most  of  them  remained  with  us 
till  morning.  But  nothing  could  restrain  our  Italian  boy, 
Carlo,  who,  promising  the  watermen  to  pay  them  with  his 
music,  was  triumphantly  rowed  ashore,  seated  in  the  stern 


376  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


of  the  "boat,  his  organ  before  him,  and  something  like  "  Hail 
Columbia  !"  his  tune.  We  gave  him  three  rapturous  cheers, 
and  we  never  saw  Carlo  again.  * 

Harry  and  I  passed  the  greater  part  of  the  night  walking 
the  deck,  and  gazing  at  the  thousand  lights  of  the  city. 

At  sunrise,  we  warped  into  a  berth  at  the  foot  of  Wall- 
street,  and  knotted  our  old  ship,  stem  and  stern,  to  the  pier. 
But  that  knotting  of  her,  was  the  unknotting  of  the  bonds 
of  the  sailors,  among  whom,  it  is  a  maxim,  that  the  ship 
once  fast  to  the  wharf,  they  are  free.  So  with  a  rush  and 
a  shout,  they  bounded  ashore,  followed  by  the  tumultuous 
crowd  of  emigrants,  whose  friends,  day -laborers  and  house 
maids,  stood  ready  to  embrace  them. 

But  in  silent  gratitude  at  the  end  of  a  voyage,  almost 
equally  uncongenial  to  both  of  us,  and  so  bitter  to  one, 
Harry  and  I  sat  on  a  chest  in  the  forecastle.  And  now, 
the  ship  that  we  had  loathed,  grew  lovely  in  our  eyes,  which 
lingered  over  every  familiar  old  timber  ;  for  the  scene  of 
suffering  is  a  scene  of  joy  when  the  suffering  is  past  ;  and 
the  silent  reminiscence  of  hardships  departed,  is  sweeter 
than  the  presence  of  delight. 


>  ^.VM;/ V;i*',';   '•  fe   f .•".;'  s^i  ,^& 
CHAPTER  LXI. 

REDBURN  AND  HARRY,  '.ARM  IN  ARM,  IN  HARBOR. 

THERE  we  sat  in  that  tarry  old  den,  the  only  inhabitants 
of  the  deserted  old  ship,  but  the  mate  and  the  rats. 

At  last,  Harry  went  to 'his  chest,  and  drawing  out  a  few 
shillings,  proposed  that  we  should  go  ashore,  and  return  with 
a  supper,  to  eat  in  the  forecastle.  Little  else  that  was 
eatable  being  for  sale  in  the  paltry  shops  along  the  wharves, 
we  bought  several  pies,  some  doughnuts,  and  a  bottle  of 
ginger-pop,  and  thus  supplied  we  made  merry.  For  to  us, 
whose  very  mouths  were  become  pickled  and  puckered,  with 
the  continual  flavor  of  briny  beef,  those  pies  and  doughnuts 
were  most  delicious.  And  as  for  the  ginger-pop,  why,  that 
ginger-pop  was  divine  !  I  have  reverenced  ginger-pop  ever 
since. 

We  kept  late  hours  that  night ;  for,  delightful  certainty  ! 
placed  beyond  all  doubt — like  royal  landsmen,  we  were 
masters  of  the  watches  of  the  night,  and  no  starb-o-leens 
ahoy  !  would  annoy  us  again. 

"  All  night  in  !  think  of  that,  Harry,  my  friend  !" 

"Ay,  Wellingborough,  it's  enough  to  keep  me  awake  for 
ever,  to  think  I  may  now  sleep  as  long  as  I  please." 

We  turned  out  bright  and  early,  and^then  prepared  for 
the  shore,  first  stripping  to  the  waist,  for  a  toilet. 

"  I  shall  never  get  these  confounded  tar-stains  out  of  my 
fingers,"  cried  Harry,  rubbing  them  hard  with  a  bit  of 
oakum,  steeped  in  strong  suds.  "  No  !  they  will  not  come 
out,  and  I'm  ruined  for  life.  Look  at  my  hand  once, 
Wellingborough  !" 

It  was  indeed  a  sad  sight.      Every  finger  nail,  like  mine, 


378  RED  BURN: 


was  dyed  of  a  rich,  russet  hue  ;  looking1  something  like  bits 
of  fine  tortoise  shell. 

"  Never  mind,  ,Harry,"  said  I — "  You  know  the  ladies 
of  the  east  steep  the  tips  of  their  fingers  in  some  golden 
dye." 

"And  by  Plutus,"  cried  Harry — "I'd  steep  mine  up  to 
the  arm-pits  in  gold ;  since  you  talk  about  that.  But 
never  mind,  I'll  swear  I'm  just  from  Persia,  my  boy." 

We  now  arrayed  ourselves  in  our  best,  and  sallied  ashore ; 
and,  at  once,  I  piloted  Harry  to  the  sign  of  a  Turkey  Cock 
in  Fulton-street,  kept  by  one  Sweeny,  a  place  famous  for 
cheap  Souchong,  and  capital  buckwheat  cakes. 

"  Well  gentlemen,  what  will  you  have  ?" — said  a  waiter, 
as  we  seated  ourselves  at  a  table. 

"  Gentlemen!"  whispered  Harry  to  me — "gentlemen! — 
hear  him  ! — I  say  now,  Redburn,  they  didn't  talk  to  us  that 
way  on  board  the  old  Highlander.  By  heaven,  I  begin  to 
feel  my  straps  again  : — Coffee  and  hot  rolls,  he  added  aloud, 
crossing  his  legs  like  a  lord,  "  and  fellow — come  back — 
bring  us  a  venison-steak." 

"  Havn't  got  it,  gentlemen." 

"  Ham  and  eggs,"  suggested  I,  whose  mouth  was  watering 
at  the  recollection  of  that  particular  dish,  which  I  had 
tasted  at  the  sign  of  the  Turkey  Cock  before.  So  ham  and 
eggs  it  was  ;  and  royal  coffee,  and  imperial  toast. 

But  the  butter ! 

"  Harry,  did  you  ever  taste  such  butter  as  this  before  ?" 

"  Don't  say  a  word," — said  Harry,  spreading  his  tenth 
slice  of  toast.  "  I'm  going  to  turn  dairyman,  and  keep 
within  the  blessed  savor  of  butter,  so  long  as  I  live." 

We  made  a  breakfast,  never  to  be  forgotten ;  paid  our 
bill  with  a  flourish,  and  sallied  into  the  street,  like  two 
goodly  galleons  of  gold,  bound  from  Acapulco  to  Old  Spain. 

"  Now,"  said  Harry,  "  lead  on  ;  and  let's  see  something 
of  these  United  States  of  yours.  I'm  ready  to  pace  from 
Maine  to  Florida ;  ford  the  Great  Lakes ;  and  jump  the 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  379 

River  Ohio,  if  it  comes  in  the  way.  Here,  take  my  arm ; — 
lead  on." 

Such  was  the  miraculous  change,  that  had  now  come  over 
him.  It  reminded  me  of  his  manner,  when  we  had  started 
for  London,  from  the  sign  of  the  Golden  Anchor,  in  Liver 
pool. 

He  was,  indeed,  in  most  wonderful  spirits ;  at  which  I 
could  not  help  marveling ;  considering  the  cavity  in  his 
pockets  ;  and  that  he  was  a  stranger  in  the  land. 

By  noon  he  had  selected  his  boarding-house,  a  private 
establishment,  where  they  did  not  charge  much  for  their 
board,  and  where  the  landlady's  butcher's  bill  was  not  very 
large. 

Here,  at  last,  I  left  him  to  get  his  chest  from  the  ship ; 
while  I  turned  up  town  to  see  my  old  friend  Mr.  Jones,  and 
learn  what  had  happened  during  my  absence. 

With  one  hand,  Mr.  Jones  shook  mine  most  cordially  ; 
and  with  the  other,  gave  me  some  letters,  which  I  eagerly 
devoured.  Their  purport  compelled  my  departure  home 
ward  ;  and  I  at  once  sought  out  Harry  to  inform  him. 

Strange,  but  even  the  few  hours'  absence  which  had  in 
tervened  ;  during  which,  Harry  had  been  left  to  himself,  to 
stare  at  strange  streets,  and  strange  faces,  had  wrought  a 
marked  change  in  his  countenance.  He  was  a  creature  of 
the  suddenest  impulses.  Left  to  himself,  the  strange  streets 
seemed  now  to  have  reminded  him  of  his  friendless  condition ; 
and  I  found  him  with  a  very  sad  eye ;  and  his  right  hand 
groping  in  his  pocket. 

11  Where  am  I  going  to  dine,  this  day  week?" — he  slowly 
said.  "  What's  to  be  done,  Wellingborough  ?" 

And  when  I  told  him  that  the  next  afternoon  I  must 
leave  him  ;  he  looked  downhearted  enough.  But  I  cheered 
him  as  well  as  I  could  ;  though  needing  a  little  cheering 
myself;  even  though  I  had  got  home  again.  But  no  more 
about  that. 

Now,  there  was  a  young  man  of  my  acquaintance  in  the 


380  REDBURN: 


city,  much  my  senior,  by  the  name  of  Goodwell ;  and  a 
good  natured  fellow  he  was  ;  who  had  of  late  been  engaged 
as  a  clerk  in  a  large  forwarding  house  in  South-street ;  and 
it  occurred  to  me,  that  he  was  just  the  man  to  befriend  Harry, 
and  procure  him  a  place.  So  I  mentioned  the  thing  to  my 
comrade  ;  and  we  called  upon  Goodwell. 

I  saw  that  he  was  impressed  by  the  handsome  exterior 
of  my  friend ;  and  in  private,  making  known  the  case,  he 
faithfully  promised  to  do  his  best  for  him ;  though  the 
times,  he  said,  were  quite  dull. 

That  evening,  Goodwell,  Harry,  and  I,  perambulated  the 
streets,  three  abreast : — Goodwell  spending  his  money  freely 
at  the  oyster-saloons ;  Harry  full  of  allusions  to  the  London 
Club-houses  :  and  myself  contributing  a  small  quota  to  the 
general  entertainment. 

Next  morning,  we  proceeded  to  business 

Now,  I  did  not  expect  to  draw  much  of  a  salary  from  the 
ship  ;  so  as  to  retire  for  life  on  the  profits  of  my  first  voyage; 
but  nevertheless,  I  thought  that  a  dollar  or  two  might  be 
coming.  For  dollars  are  valuable  things  ;  and  should  not 
be  overlooked,  when  they  are  owing.  Therefore,  as  the 
second  morning  after  our  arrival,  had  been  set  apart  for 
paying  off  the  crew,  Harry  and  I  made  our  appearance  on 
ship-board,  with  the  rest.  We  were  told  to  enter  the 
cabin ;  and  once  again  I  found  myself,  after  an  interval  of 
four  months,  and  more,  surrounded  by  its  mahogany  and 
maple. 

Seated  in  a  sumptuous  arm-chair,  behind  a  lustrous,  inlaid 
desk,  aat  Captain  Riga,  arrayed  in  his  City  Hotel  suit,  look 
ing  magisterial  as  the  Lord  High  Admiral  of  England.  Hat 
in  hand,  the  sailors  stood  deferentially  in  a  semicircle  before 
him,  while  the  captain  held  the  ship-papers  in  his  hand,  and 
one  by  one  called  their  names  ;  and  in  mellow  bank  notes— 
beautiful  sight ! — paid  them  their  wages. 

Most  of  them  had  less  than  ten,  a  few  twenty,  and  two, 
thirty  dollars  corning  to  them  ;  while  the  old  cook,  whose 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  381 

piety  proved  profitable  in  restraining  him  from  the  expensive 
excesses  of  most  seafaring  men,  and  who  had  taken  no  pay 
in  advance,  had  the  goodly  round  sum  of  seventy  dollars  as 
his  due. 

Seven  ten  dollar  bills  !  each  of  which,  as  I  calculated  at 
the  time,  was  worth  precisely  one  hundred  dimes,  which 
were  equal  to  one  thousand  cents,  which  were  again  sub 
divisible  into  fractions.  So  that  he  now  stepped  into  a  for 
tune  of  seventy  thousand  American  "mills."  Only  seventy 
dollars,  after  all ;  but  then,  it  has  always  seemed  to  me, 
that  stating  amounts  in  sounding  fractional  sums,  conveys  a 
much  fuller  notion  of  their  magnitude,  than  by  disguising 
their  immensity  in  such  aggregations  of  value,  as  doubloons, 
sovereigns,  and  dollars.  Who  would  not  rather  be  worth 
125,000  francs  in  Paris,  than  only  £5000  in  London,  though 
the  intrinsic  value  of  the  two  sums,  in  round  numbers,  is 
pretty  much  the  same. 

With  a  scrape  of  the  foot,  and  such  a  bow  as  only  a 
negro  can  make,  the  old  cook  marched  off  with  his  fortune  ; 
and  I  have  no  doubt  at  once  invested  it  in  a  grand,  under 
ground  oyster-cellar. 

The  other  sailors,  after  counting  their  cash  very  carefully, 
and  seeing  all  was  right,  and  not  a  bank-note  was  dog-eared, 
in  which  case  they  would  have  demanded  another  :  for  they 
are  not  to  be  taken  in  and  cheated,  your  sailors,  and  they 
know  their  rights,  too  ;  at  least,  when  they  are  at  liberty, 
after  the  voyage  is  concluded  : — the  sailors  also  salaamed, 
and  withdrew,  leaving  Harry  and  me  face  to  face  with  the 
Paymaster-general  of  the  Forces. 

We  stood  awhile,  looking  as  polite  as  possible,  and  ex 
pecting  every  moment  to  hear  our  names  called,  but  not  a 
word  did  we  hear  ;  while  the  captain,  throwing  aside  his 
accounts,  lighted  a  very  fragrant  cigar,  took  up  the  morning 
paper — I  think  it  was  the  Herald — threw  his  leg  over  one 
arm  of  the  chair,  and  plunged  into  the  latest  intelligence 
from  all  parts  of  the  world. 


382  REDBURN: 


I  looked  at  Harry,  and  he  looked  at  me  ;  and  then  we 
both  looked  at  this  incomprehensible  captain., 

At  last  Harry  hemmed,  and  I  scraped  my  foot  to  increase 
the  disturbance. 

The  Paymaster-general  looked  up. 

"  Well,  where  do  you  come  from  ?  Who  are  you,  pray? 
and  what  do  you  want  ?  Steward,  show  thes'e  young  gen 
tlemen  out." 

"  I  want  my  money,"  said  Harry. 

"  My  wages  are  due,"  said  I. 

The  captain  laughed.  Oh  !  he  was  exceedingly  merry  ; 
and  taking  a  long  inspiration  of  smoke,  removed  his  cigar, 
and  sat  sideways  looking  at  us,  letting  the  vapor  slowly 
wriggle  and  spiralize  out  of  his  mouth. 

"  Upon  my  soul,  young  gentlemen,  you  astonish  me.  Are 
your  names  down  in  the  City  Directory  ?  have  you  any  letters 
of  introduction,  young  gentlemen?" 

"  Captain  Riga!"  cried  Harry,  enraged  at  his  impudence 
— "  I  tell  you  what  it  is,  Captain  Riga;  this  won't  do — 
where's  the  rhino?" 

"Captain  Riga,"  added  I,  "do  you  not  remember,  that 
about  four  months  ago,  my  friend  Mr.  Jones  and  myself  had 
an  interview  with  you  in  this  very  cabin  ;  when  it  was 
agreed  that  I  was  to  go  out  in  your  ship,  and  receive  three 
dollars  per  month  for  my  services  ?  Well,  Captain  Riga, 
I  have  gone  out  with  you,  and  returned ;  and  now,  sir,  I'll 
thank  you  for  my  pay." 

"Ah,  yes,  I  remember,"  said  the  captain.  "Mr.  Jones: 
Ha !  ha !  I  remember  Mr.  Jones  :  a  very  gentlemanly  gen 
tleman  ;  and  stop — you,  too,  are  the  son  of  a  wealthy  French 
importer ;  and — let  me  think — was  not  your  great-uncle  &• 
barber?" 

"No!"  thundered  I. 

"Well,  well,  young  gentleman,  really  I  beg  your  pardon. 
Steward,  chairs  for  the  young  gentlemen — be  seated,  young 
gentlemen.  And  now,  let  me  see,"  turning  over  his  accounts 


HIS   FIRST   VOYAGE.  383 

— "  Hum,  hum ! — yes,  here  it  is :  Wellingborough  Redburn, 
at  three  dollars  a  month.  Say  four  months,  that's  twelve 
dollars;  less  three  dollars  advanced  in  Liverpool — that 
makes  it  nine  dollars ;  less  three  hammers  and  two  scrapers 
lost  overboard — that  brings  it  to  four  dollars  and  a  quarter. 
I  owe  you  four  dollars  and  a  quarter,  I  believe,  young  gen 
tleman?" 

"  So  it  seems,  sir,"  said  I,  with  staring  eyes. 

"And  now  let  me  see  what  you  owe  me,  "and  then  we'll 
be  able  to  square  the  yards,  Monsieur  Redburn." 

Owe  him !  thought  I — what  do  I  owe  him  but  a  grudge , 
but  I  concealed  my  resentment ;  and  presently  he  said,  "  By 
running  away  from  the  ship  in  Liverpool,  you  forfeited  your 
wages,  which  amount  to  twelve  dollars ;  and  as  there  has 
been  advanced  to  you,  in  money,  hammers,  and  scrapers, 
seven  dollars  and  seventy-five  cents,  you  are  therefore  in 
debted  to  me  in  precisely  that  sum.  Now,  young  gentle 
man,  I'll  thank  you  for  the  money ;"  and  he  extended  his 
open  palm  across  the  desk. 

"  Shall  I  pitch  into  him  ?"  whispered  Harry. 

"  I  was  thunderstruck  at  this  most  unforeseen  announce 
ment  of  the  state  of  my  account  with  Captain  Riga ;  and  I 
began  to  understand  why  it  was  that  he  had  till  now  ignored 
my  absence  from  the  ship,  when  Harry  and  I  were  in  Lon 
don.  But  a  single  minute's  consideration  showed  that  I 
could  not  help  myself;  so,  telling  him  that  he  was  at  liberty 
to  begin  his  suit,  for  I  was  a  bankrupt,  and  could  not  pay 
him,  I  turned  to  go. 

Now,  here  was  this  man  actually  turning  a  poor  lad  adrift 
without  a  copper,  after  he  had  been  slaving  aboard  his  ship 
for  more  than  four  mortal  months.  But  Captain  Riga  was 
a  bachelor  of  expensive  habits,  and  had  run  up  large  wine 
bills  at  the  City  Hotel.  He  could  not  afford  to  be  munifi 
cent.  Peace  to  his  dinners. 

"  Mr.  Bolton,  I  believe,"  said  the  captain,  now  blandly 
bowing  toward  Harry.  "  Mr.  Bolton,  you  also  shinnerl  for 


384  REDBURN: 


three  dollars  per  month  :  and  you  had  one  month's  advance  in 
Liverpool ;  and  from  dock  to  dock  we  have  been  about  a 
month  and  a  half ;  so  I  owe  you  just  one  dollar  and  a  half, 
Mr.  Bolton ;  and  here  it  is ;"  handing  him  six  two-shilling 
pieces. 

"  And  this,"  said  Harry,  throwing  himself  into  a  tragical 
attitude,  "  this  is  the  reward  of  my  long  and  faithful  serv 
ices  !" 

Then,  disdainfully  flinging  the  silver  on  the  desk,  he  ex 
claimed,  "  There,  Captain  Riga,  you  may  keep  your  tin  !  It 
has  been  in  your  purse,  and  it  would  give  me  the  itch  to  re 
tain  it.  Good  morning,  sir." 

"  Good  morning,  young  gentlemen;  pray,  call  again,"  said 
the  captain,  coolly  bagging  the  coins.  His  politeness,  while 
in  port,  was  invincible. 

Quitting  the  cabin,  I  remonstrated  with  Harry  upon  his 
recklessness  in  disdaining  his  wages,  small  though  they  were ; 
I  begged  to  remind  him  of  his  situation ;  and  hinted  that 
every  penny  he  could  get  might  prove  precious  to  him.  But 
he  only  cried  Pshaw  !  and  that  was  the  last  of  it. 

Going  forward,  we  found  the  sailors  congregated  on  the 
forecastle-deck,  engaged  in  some  earnest  discussion ;  while 
several  carts  on  the  wharf,  loaded  with  their  chests,  were 
just  in  the  act  of  driving  off,  destined  for  the  boarding-houses 
up-town.  By  the  looks  of  our  shipmates,  I  saw  very  plainly 
that  they  must  have  some  mischief  under  weigh  ;  and  so  it 
turned  out. 

Now,  though  Captain  Riga  had  not  been  guilty  of  any 
particular  outrage  against  the  sailors  ;  yet,  by  a  thousand 
small  meannesses — such  as  indirectly  causing  their  allow 
ance  of  bread  and  beef  to  be  diminished,  without  betraying 
any  appearance  of  having  any  inclination  that  way,  and  with 
out  speaking  to  the  sailors  on  the  subject — by  this,  and  kin 
dred  actions,  I  say,  he  had  contracted  the  cordial  dislike  of 
the  whole  ship's  company ;  and  long  since  they  had  bestowed 
upon  him  a  name  unmentionably  expressive  of  their  contempt. 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  385 

The  voyage  was  now  concluded  ;  and  it  appeared  that  the 
subject  being  debated  by  the  assembly  on  the  forecastle  was, 
how  best  they  might  give  a  united  and  valedictory  expression 
of  the  sentiments  they  entertained  toward  their  late  lord  and 
master.  Some  emphatic  symbol  of  those  sentiments  was 
desired  ;  some  unmistakable  token,  which  should  forcibly  im 
press  Captain  Riga  with  the  justest  possible  notion  of  their 
feelings. 

It  was  like  a  meeting  of  the  members  of  some  mercantile 
company,  upon  the  eve  of  a  prosperous  dissolution  of  the  con 
cern  ;  when  the  subordinates,  actuated  by  the  purest  grati 
tude  toward  their  president,  or  chief,  proceed  to  vote  him  a 
silver  pitcher,  in  token  of  their  respect.  It  was  something 
like  this,  I  repeat — but  with  a  material  difference,  as  will 
be  seen. 

At  last,  the  precise  manner  in  which  the  thing  should  be 
done  being  agreed  upon,  Blunt,  the  "  Irish  cockney,"  was 
deputed  to  summon  the  captain.  He  knocked  at  the  cabin- 
door,  and  politely  requested  the  steward  to  inform  Captain 
Riga,  that  some  gentlemen  were  on  the  pier-head,  earnestly 
seeking  him  ;  whereupon  he  joined  his  comrades. 

In  a  few  moments  the  captain  sallied  from  the  cabin,  and 
found  the  gentlemen  alluded  to,  strung  along  the  top  of  the 
bulwarks,  on  the  side  next  to  the  wharf.  Upon  his  appear 
ance,  the  row  suddenly  wheeled  about,  presenting  their 
backs ;  and  making  a  motion,  which  was  a  polite  salute  to 
every  thing  before  them,  but  an  abominable  insult  to  all 
who  happened  to  be  in  their  rear,  they  gave  three  cheers, 
and  at  one  bound,  cleared  the  ship. 

True  to  his  imperturbable  politeness  while  in  port,  Cap 
tain  Riga  only  lifted  his  hat,  smiled  very  blandly,  and 
slowly  returned  into  his  cabin. 

Wishing  to  see  the  last  movements  of  this  remarkable 
crew,  who  were  so  clever  ashore  and  so  craven  afloat,  Harry 
and  I  followed  them  along  the  wharf,  till  they  stopped  at  a 
sailor  retreat,  poetically  denominated  "  The  Flashes."  And 

R 


386  R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


here  they  all  came  to  anchor  before  the  bar  ;  and  the  land 
lord,  a  lantern-jawed  landlord,  bestirred  himself  behind  it, 
among  his  villainous  old  bottles  and  decanters.  He  well 
knew,  from  their  looks,  that  his  customers  were  "  flush,"  and 
would  spend  their  money  freely,  as,  indeed,  is  the  case  with 
most  seamen,  recently  paid  off. 

It  was  a  touching  scene. 

"  Well,  maties,"  said  one  of  them,  at  last — "  I  spose  we 
shan't  see  each  other  again  : — come,  let's  splice  the  main- 
brace  all  round,  and  drink  to  the  last  voyage  /" 

Upon  this,  the  landlord  danced  down  his  glasses,  on  the 
bar,  uncorked  his  decanters,  and  deferentially  pushed  them 
over  toward  the  sailors,  as  much  as  to  say — "  Honorable 
gentlemen,  it  is  not  for  me  to  allowance  your  liquor  ; — help 
your -selves,  your  honors." 

And  so  they  did  ;  each  glass  a  bumper  ;  and  standing  in 
a  row,  tossed  them  all  off;  shook  hands  all  round,  three  times 
three ;  and  then  disappeared  in  couples,  through  the  several 
doorways  ;  for  "  The  Flashes"  was  on  a  corner. 

If  to  every  one,  life  be  made  up  of  farewells  and  greetings, 
and  a  "  Good-by,  God  bless  you"  is  heard  for  every  " Hoiv 
d'ye  do,  welcome,  my  boy"— then,  of  all  men,  sailors  shake 
the  most  hands,  and  wave  the  most  hats.  They  are  here 
and  then  they  are  there  ;  ever  shifting  themselves,  they  shift 
among  the  shifting  :  and  like  rootless  sea- weed,  are  tossed  to 
and  fro. 

As,  after  shaking  our  hands,  our  shipmates  departed, 
Harry  and  I  stood  on  the  corner  awhile,  till  we  saw  the  last 
man  disappear. 

"  They  are  gone,"  said  I. 

"  Thank  heaven  !"  said  Harry. 


CHAPTER  LXIL 

THE  LAST  THAT  WAS  EVER  HEARD  OF  HARRY  BOLTON. 

THAT  same  afternoon,  I  took  my  comrade  down  to  the 
Battery ;  and  we  sat  on  one  of  the  benches,  under  the  sum 
mer  shade  of  the  trees. 

It  was  a  quiet,  beautiful  scene ;  full  of  promenading  ladies 
and  gentlemen ;  and  through  the  foliage,  so  fresh  and  bright, 
we  looked  out  over  the  bay,  varied  with  glancing  ships ;  and 
then,  we  looked  down  to  our  boots ;  and  thought  what  a 
fine  world  it  would  be,  if  we  only  had  a  little  money  to 
enjoy  it.  But  that's  the  everlasting  rub — oh,  who  can  cure 
an  empty  pocket  ? 

"  I  have  no  doubt,  Goodwell  will  take  care  of  you,  Harry," 
said  I,  "  he's  a  fine,  good-hearted  fellow ;  and  will  do  his 
best  for  you,  I  know." 

"  No  doubt  of  it,"  said  Harry,  looking  hopeless. 

11  And  I  need  not  tell  you,  Harry,  how  sorry  I  am  to 
leave  you  so  soon," 

"  And  I  am  sorry  enough  myself,"  said  Harry,  looking 
very  sincere. 

"  But  I  will  be  soon  back  again,  I  doubt  not,"  said  I. 

"  Perhaps  so,"  said  Harry,  shaking  his  head.  "  How  far 
is  it  off?" 

"  Only  a  hundred  and  eighty  miles,"  said  I. 

"  A  hundred  and  eighty  miles  !"  said  Harry,  drawing  the 
words  out  like  an  endless  ribbon.  "  Why,  I  couldn't  walk 
that  in  a  month." 

"  Now,  my  dear  friend,"  said  I,  "  Take  my  advice,  and 
while  I  am  gone,  keep  up  a  stout  heart ;  never  despair,  and 
all  will  be  well." 


R  E  D  B  U  R  N  : 


But  notwithstanding  all  I  could  say  to  encourage  him, 
Harry  felt  so  bad,  that  nothing  would  do,  but  a  rush  to  a 
neighboring  bar,  where  we  both  gulped  ^down  a  glass  of 
ginger-pop  ;  after  which  we  felt  better. 

He  accompanied  me  to  the  steamboat,  that  was  to  carry 
me  homeward ;  he  stuck  close  to  my  side,  till  she  was  about 
to  put  off;  then,  standing  on  the  wharf,  he  shook  me  by  the 
hand,  till  we  almost  counteracted  the  play  of  the  paddles  ; 
and  at  last,  with  a  mutual  jerk  at  the  arm-pits,  we  parted. 
I  never  saw  Harry  again. 

I  pass  over  the  reception  I  met  with  at  home  ;  how  I 
plunged  into  embraces,  long  and  loving  : — I  pass  over  this  ; 
and  will  conclude  my  first  voyage  by  relating  all  I  know  of 
what  overtook  Harry  Bolton. 

Circumstances  beyond  my  control,  detained  me  at  home 
for  several  weeks ;  during  which,  I  wrote  to  my  friend, 
without  receiving  an  answer. 

I  then  wrote  to  young  Goodwell,  who  returned  me  the 
following  letter,  now  spread  before  me. 

"Dear  Redburn : — Your  poor  friend,  Harry,  I  can 
not  find  any  where.  After  you  left,  he  called  upon  me 
several  times,  and  we  walked  out  together ;  and  my  in 
terest  in  him  increased  every  day.  But  you  don't  know  how 
dull  are  the  times  here,  and  what  multitudes  of  young  men, 
well  qualified,  are  seeking  employment  in  counting-houses. 
I  did  my  best ;  but  could  not  get  Harry  a  place.  Hoiv- 
ever,  I  cheered  him.  But  he  grew  more  and  more  melan 
choly,  and  at  last  told  me,  that  he  had  sold  all  his  clothes 
but  those  on  his  back  to  pay  his  board.  I  offered  to  loan 
him  a  few  dollars,  but  he  would  not  receive  them.  I  called 
upon  him  two  or  three  times  after  this,  but  he  was  not  in; 
at  last,  his  landlady  told  me  that  he  had  permanently  left 
her  house  the  very  day  before.  Upon  my  questioning  her 
closely,  as  to  ivhere  he  had  gone,  she  answered,  that  she 
did  not  know,  but  from  certain  hints  that  had  dropped 


HIS    FIRST    VOYAGE.  389 

from  our  poor  friend,  she  feared  he  had  gone  on  a  whaling 
voyage.  I  at  once  went  to  the  offices  in  South-street, 
ivhere  men  are  shipped  for  the  Nantucket  whalers,  and 
made  inquiries  among  them;  but  without  success.  And 
this,  I  am  heartily  grieved  to  say,  is  all  I  know  of  our 
friend.  I  can  not  believe  that  his  melancholy  could  bring 
him  to  the  insanity  of  throwing  himself  away  in  a  whaler  ; 
and  I  still  think,  that  he  must  be  somewhere  in  the  city. 
You  must  come  down  yourself,  and  help  me  seek  him  out." 

This  letter  gave  me  a  dreadful  shock.  Remembering 
our  adventure  in  London,  and  his  conduct  there  ;  remem 
bering  how  liable  he  was  to  yield  to  the  most  sudden,  crazy, 
and  contrary  impulses  ;  and  that,  as  a  friendless,  penniless 
foreigner  in  New  York,  he  must  have  had  the  most  terrible 
incitements  to  committing  violence  upon  himself;  I  shud 
dered  to  think,  that  even  now,  while  I  thought  of  him,  he 
might  no  more  be  living.  So  strong  was  this  impression  at 
the  time,  that  I  quickly  glanced  over  the  papers  to  see  if 
there  were  any  accounts  of  suicides,  or  drowned  persons 
floating  in  the  harbor  of  New  York. 

I  now  made  all  the  haste  I  could  to  the  seaport,  but 
though  I  sought  him  all  over,  no  tidings  whatever  could  be 
heard. 

To  relieve  my  anxiety,  Goodwell  endeavored  to  assure 
me,  that  Harry  must  indeed  have  departed  on  a  whaling 
voyage.  But  remembering  his  bitter  experience  on  board 
of  the  Highlander,  and  more  than  all,  his  nervousness  about 
going  aloft,  it  seemed  next  to  impossible. 

At  last  I  was  forced  to  give  him  up. 

#  #'  #  #    '  #  # 

Years  after  this,  I  found  myself  a  sailor  in  the  Pacific, 
on  board  of  a  whaler.  One  day  at  sea,  we  spoke  another 
whaler,  and  the  boat's  crew  that  boarded  our  vessel,  came 
forward  among  us  to  have  a  little  sea-chat,  as  is  always 
customary  upon  such  occasions. 


390  RED-BURN: 


Among  the  strangers  was  an  Englishman,  who  had 
shipped  in  his  vessel  at  Callao,  for  the  cruise.  In  the 
course  of  conversation,  he  made  allusion  to  the  fact,  that 
he  had  now  been  in  the  Pacific  several  years,  and  that  the 
good  craft  Huntress  of  Nantucket  had  had  the  honor  of 
originally  bringing  him  round  upon  that  side  of  the  globe. 
I  asked  him  why  he  had  abandoned  her ;  he  answered  that 
she  was  the  most  unlucky  of  ships. 

"  We  had  hardly  been  out  three  months,"  said  he,  "when 
on  the  Brazil  banks  we  lost  a  boat's  crew,  chasing  a  whale 
after  sundown  ;  and  next  day  lost  a  poor  little  fellow,  a 
countryman  of  mine,  who  had  never  entered  the  boats  ;  he 
fell  over  the  side,  and  was  jammed  between  the  ship,  and  a 
whale,  while  we  were  cutting  the  fish  in.  Poor  fellow,  he 
had  a  hard  time  of  it,  from  the  beginning  ;  he  was  a  gentle 
man's  son,  and  when  you  could  coax  him  to  it,  he  sang  like 
a  bird." 

"  What  was  his  name  ?"  said  I,  trembling  with  expecta 
tion  ;  "  what  kind  of  eyes  did  he  have  ?  what  was  the  color 
of  his  hair  ?" 

"  Harry  Bolton  was  not  your  brother  ?"  cried  the  stranger, 
starting. 

Harry  Bolton  !  it  was  even  he  ! 

But  yet,  I,  Wellingborough  Redburn,  chance  to  survive, 
after  having  passed  through  far  more  perilous  scenes  than 
any  narrated  in  this,  My  First  Voyage — which  here  I  end* 


THE     END. 


One  Volume,  12mo,  Muslin,  87-fc  cents  ;  Paper,  75  cents. 

"Why  I  never  chanced  upon  Mr.  Melville's  work  before,  is  one  of  the  inscrutable 
mysteries  of  my  fate.  While  luxuriating  in  its  perusal,  I  looked  back  upon  myself 
in  my  ante-Typee-cal  existence,  with  positive  commiseration.  There  are  those,  I 
am  aware,  who  doubt  the  authenticity  of  this  charming  narrative.  '  Oh,  ye  of  little 
faith !'  I  have  a  solemn  conviction  of  its  truth — a  pertinacious  belief  in  the  entire 
work — an  humble,  unquestioning  reliance  on  the  word  of  the  narrator." — Corre 
spondence  of  "  GRACE  GHEENWOOD"  to  the  Home  Journal. 

Chateaubriand's  Atala  is  of  no  softer  or  more  romantic  tone — Anacharsis  scarce 
presents  us  with  images  more  classically  exquisite.— New  York  Mirror. 

Typee  is  a  happy  hit,  whichever  way  you  look  at  it— whether  as  travels,  romance, 
poetry,  or  humor.  The  bonhommie  of  the  book  is  remarkable.  It  appears  as  genial 
and  natural  as  the  spontaneous  fruits  of  the  island. — Morning  News. 

The  air  of  freshness  and  romance  which  characterizes  Typee,  gives  it  the  appear 
ance  of  an  improved  edition  of  our  old  favorites,  Peter  Wilkins  and  Gulliver.— Rich 
mond  Republican. 

A  charming  book— full  of  talent,  composed  with  singular  elegance,  and  as  musical 
as  Washington  Irving's  Columbus.—  Western  Continent. 

Enviable  Herman !  A  happier  dog  it  is  impossible  to  imagine  than  Herman  in 
the  Typee  valley.— London  Times. 

Some  of  these  pictures  but  require  us  to  call  the  savages  celestials,  to  have  sup 
posed  Mr.  Melville  to  have  dropped  from  the  clouds,  and  to  fancy  some  Ovidian 
grace  added  to  the  narrative  in  order  to  become  scenes  of  classic  mythology. — Lon 
don  Spectator. 

Such  is  life  in  the  valley  of  the  Typees ;  and  surely  Rasselas,  if  he  had  had  the  good 
luck  to  stumble  on  it,  would  not  have  gone  further  in  his  search  after  happiness.— 
Douglas  Jerrola?s  Magazine. 

,  The  whole  narrative  is  most  simple,  most  affecting,  and  most  romantic.    Ah  !  thou 
gentle  and  too  enchanting  Fayaway,  what  has  become  of  thee  ? — Lon.  Genfs.  Mag. 

Since  the  joyous  moment  when  we  first  read  Robinson  Crusoe,  and  believed  it  all, 
and  wondered  all  the  more  because  we  believed,  we  have  not  met  with  so  bewitch 
ing  a  work  as  this  narrative  of  Herman  Melville's.— London  John  Bull. 

A  book  full  of  fresh  and  richly -colored  matter.— London  Athenaum. 

This  is  really  a  very  curious  book.  The  happy  valley  of  our  dear  Rasselas  was 
not  a  more  romantic  or  enchanting  scene. — London  Examiner. 

This  is  a  most  entertaining  and  refreshing  book.  The  writer,  though  filling  the 
post  of  a  common  sailor,  is  certainly  no  common  man.— London  Critic. 

The  style  is  racy  and  pointed,  and  there  is  a  romantic  interest  thrown  around  the 
adventure,  which  to  most  readers  will  be  highly  charming.— American  Review. 

It  bears  the  unexhausted  characteristics  of  talent.— National  Intelligencer. 

The  story  is  eventful— wonderful ;  some  of  the  deeds  performed  by  the  author 
and  his  companion  almost  surpass  belief.— Cincinnati  Herald. 

Harper  &  Brothers,  Publishers,  New  York, 


2  Volumes,  12mo,  Muslin,  $1  75;  Paper,  $1  50. 

A  work  such  as  was  never  heard  of  before.  You  might  accumulate  upon  it  all 
the  epithets  which  Madame  de  Sevign6  affectionated.  Fancy  Daphnis  and  Chloe 
dancing  I  know  not  what  strange  gavotte  with  Aristotle  and  Spinoza,  escorted  by 
,  Gargantua  and  Gargamelle.  Mardi  is  the  modern  political  world.  This  part  is  the 
most  piquant  of  the  book.  The  colossal  machine  invented  by  Mr.  Melville  might 
be  compared  to  the  American  Panorama  now  placarded  on  the  walls  of  London  in 
these  terms :  "  Gigantic  original  American  Panorama,  now  on  exhibition  in  the  great 
American  Hall;  the  prodigious  moving  Panorama  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  the  Falls  of 
St.  Anthony,  and  of  the  Mississippi,  covering  an  extent  of  canvass  four  miles  long,  and 
representing  more  than  4000  miles  of  scenery." — Translated  from  the  "Revue  de  Deux 


From  the  first  chapter  of  the  book  to  the  last,  where  the  hero  is  swept  from  our 
eight  in  a  cloud  of  spray,  the  book  is  a  magnificent  drama.— Bentley's  Miscellany. 

Mardi  is  a  purely  original  invention,  an  extraordinary  book.  It  is  a  species  of  Uto 
pia,  or,  rather,  a  sea  voyage  in  which  we  discover  human  nature.  There  is  a  world 
of  poetical,  thoughtful,  ingenious,  moral  writing  in  it,  exhibiting  the  most  various  re 
flection  and  reading.  Is  it  not  significant  that  we  should  soon  be  swept  beyond  the 
current  of  the  isles  into  this  world  of  high  discourse— revolving  the  conditions,  the 
duties,  and  destinies  of  men?— New  York  Literary  World. 

Mardi  has  posed  us.  It  has  struck  our  head  like  one  of  those  blows  which  set 
every  thing  dancing  and  glancing  before  your  eyes  like  splintered  sun's  rays.  The 
images  are  brilliant ;  the  adventures  superb. — London  Literary  Gazette. 

Full  of  pictures  from  the  under  world.— London  Athenaum. 

Mardi  is  full  of  all  Oriental  delights.— fliwrae  Journal. 

The  reader  who  has  business  in  Mardi  will  find  it  rich  in  wisdom  and  brilliant  with 
beauty.  It  is  a  magnificent  allegory,  wherein  the  world  is  seen  as  in  a  mirror.  The 
germ  of  the  oak  is  not  more  surely  hid  hi  the  acorn  than  Melville's  fame  in  this  book. 
— (Jhronotype. 

An  extraordinary  production.    Mardi  is  the  world.— Musical  Times. 

There  is  strange  interest,  at  times  replete  with  power  of  a  peculiar  and  uncommon 
kind.— Blackwood. 

A  sort  of  retina  picture,  or  inverted  view  of  the  world,  under  the  name  of  Mardi. 
Typee  and  Omoo  are  to  this  work  as  a  seven-by-nine  sketch  of  a  sylvan  lake  with  a 
lone  hunter,  or  a  boy  fishing,  compared  with  the  cartoons  of  Raphael.— Dem.  Rev. 

A  wonderful  book ;  at  once  enthusiastic  and  epigrammatic ;  it  burns  at  one  and 
the  same  time  with  an  intense  and  richly  colored  glow  of  poetic  ardor,  and  the  more 
glittering,  but  paler  fires  of  an  artful  rhetoric.— London  Morning  Chronicle. 

Charles  Lamb  might  have  imagined  such  a  party  as  Mr.  Melville  imagines  at  Pluto's 
table — London  Examiner. 

The  public  will  discover  in  him,  at  least,  a  capital  essayist,  in  addition  to  the  fasci 
nating  novelist  and  painter  of  sea  life.— Literary  World. 

Harper  &  Brothers,  Publishers,  New  York, 


One  Volume,  12mo,  Muslin,  $1  25;  Paper,  $1  00. 

After  the  pungent  and  admirably  written  narrative  of  that  accomplished,  able  sea 
man,  Herman  Melville,  few  books  of  the  same  class  but  must  appear  flat  and  unprof 
itable.  Omoo  would  have  found  readers  at  any  time ;  and  that  although  twenty  pub 
lishers  had  combined  with  fifty  authors  to  deluge  the  public  with  the  Pacific  Ocean 
during  the  five  previous  years. — Blackwood's  notice  of  Coulter's  Cruise. 

Let  Mr.  Melville  write  as  much  as  he  will,  provided  always  he  writes  as  well  as 
now,  and  he  shall  find  us  greedy  devourers  of  his  productions.  He  has  a  rare  pen 
for  the  delineation  of  character ;  an  eye  for  the  humorous  and  grotesque  which  is 
worth  a  Jew's ;  for  the  description  of  natural  scenery  he  is  not  to  be  beaten,  either 
on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  or  the  other.  His  pencil  is  most  distinct,  the  coloring 
beautiful  and  rich.  As  for  invention,  he  will  bear  comparison  with  the  most  cun 
ning  of  the  modern  French  school.  *  *  *  At  the  last  page  of  his  second  work,  Mr. 
Melville  is  as  fresh  and  vigorous  as  at  the  first  line  of  the  book  which  preceded  it. 
Lkie  his  reader,  he  leaves  off  with  an  appetite. — London  Times. 

Unlike  most  sequels,  Omoo  is  equal  to  its  predecessor.  The  character  of  the  com 
position  is  clear,  fresh,  vivacious,  and  full  of  matter. — London  Spectator. 

The  adventures  are  depicted  with  force  and  humor. — London  Athenaum. 

Some  of  the  scenes  are  like  cabinet  pictures. — London  Critic. 

Written  in  a  style  worthy  of  Philip  Q,uarles  or  Robinson  Crusoe. — Lon.  Lit.  Gaz. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  a  man  better  fitted  to  describe  the  impressions  such 
a  life  and  such  scenes  are  calculated  to  call  forth,  than  the  auther  of  Omoo.  Every 
variety  of  character,  and  scene,  and  incident,  he  studies  and  describes  with  equal 
gusto. — London  People's  Journal. 

A  stirring  narrative  of  very  pleasant  reading.  It  possesses  much  of  the  charm  that 
has  made  Robinson  Crusoe  immortal— life-like  description.  It  commands  attention, 
as  if  old  interest  were  created  by  the  narratives— 

"Of  Raleigh,  Frobisher,  and  Drake- 
Adventurous  hearts,  who  bartered  bold 
Tbeir  English  steel  for  Spanish  gold." 

The  history  is  one  of  comparatively  new  lands  and  new  people.  His  account  of  the 
natives  corresponds  with  that  of  Kotzebue  and  others. — Douglas  Jerrold's  Paper. 

Mr.  Melville  has  more  than  sustained  his  widely-spread  reputation  in  these  vol 
umes.  Omoo  and  Typee  are  actually  delightful  romances  of  real  life,  embellished 
with  powers  of  description,  and  a  graphic  skill  of  hitting  off  characters,  little  inferi 
or  to  the  highest  order  of  novel  and  romance  writers. — Albion. 

A  curious  and  fascinating  narrative. — Anglo  American. 

These  volumes  contain  a  vast  amount  of  exceedingly  entertaining  and  interesting 
matter. — Philadelphia  Courier. 

Omoo  is  characterized  by  all  the  animation,  picraresqueness,  and  felicity  of  style 
which  commended  the  author's  first  writings  to  a  second  reading,  even  after  curios 
ity  is  satisfied  by  tracing  out  the  singularity  of  the  story.— Literary  World. 

Harper  &  Brothers,  Publishers,  New  York. 


Erantlq  f  tttltsljrtr  In  lnrptr 


,  Cliff  Itmt, 


I  IMOiB  TWIT 


TO 


BY  SIR  CHARLES  LYELL,  F.R.S. 

In  Two  Volumes,  12mo,  Paper,  $1  20 ;  Muslin,  $1  50. 


This  is  a  straightforward,  manly  produc 
tion,  giving  us  as  much  praise  as  we  deserve, 
and  yet  far  from  contemplating  every  thing 
with  indiscriminate  approbation. — Alb.  Atlas. 

The  fame  of  Sir  Charles  Lyell  as  a  geolo 
gist  is  world  wide.  We  have  examined  his 
travels  carefully,  and  have  been  deeply  in 
terested  in  their  perusal.— Union. 

The  author  looks  at  Nature  with  learned 
as  well  as  pictorial  eyes.  He  not  only  sees 
her  wonders  and  her  beauties,  but  he  knows 
their  sources  and  their  consequences,  so  that 
he  informs  as  well  as  pleases  the  mind.  His 
book  abounds  in  social  sketches,  and  anec 
dotes  and  incidents  illustrative  of  society  in 
all  its  various  classes. — London  Spectator. 

This  work  contains  clear  and  interesting 
notices  of  the  people  of  every  class  or  race, 
and  in  every  locality.  Its  generalizations  are 
instructive  and  its  details  entertaining.  It 
well  merits  the  public  regard. — Literary  Gaz. 

An  intelligent  account  of  the  author's  trav 
els,  with  observations  upon  his  favorite  sci 
ence,  geology,  criticisms  upon  society,  and 
remarks  upon  sectional  differences,  sectional 
prosperity,  and  the  various  institutions  of  the 
country.  We  commend  it  to  the  public,  as 
both  useful  and  entertaining. — Troy  Gazette. 

This  book  has  infinitely  more  real  merit 
and  solid  worth  than  the  Travels  of  Dickens, 
Trollope,  Hall,  and  others  of  the  same  class. 
It  is  the  production  of  a  man  of  the  most  con 
spicuous  and  entire  impartiality  of  judgment 
and  of  temper.  He  writes  freely,  fairly,  and 
ably.  His  remarks  are  always  calm  and  just. 
— Savannah.  Republican. 

A  popular  and  attractive  work,  containing 
a  vast  amount  of  information  on  various  sub 
jects. — Onondaga  Standard. 


This  is  one  of  the  most  sensible  and  agreea 
ble  books  of  travel  we  have  recently  encoun 
tered.  It  is  written  in  a  free,  candid,  and 
pleasant  vein.  Its  unexaggerated,  just,  and 
pleasing  spirit  will  commend  it  to  readers  of 
taste  and  discrimination. — Home  Journal. 

We  must  accord  to  Mr.  Lyell  the  merit  of 
having  looked  at  things  with  much  freedom 
from  prejudice.  His  remarks  upon  New  En 
gland  and  the  North  will  be  found  of  much 
interest  to  American  readers. — Hartford  Cou- 
rant. 

These  volumes  will  not  diminish  the  au 
thor's  reputation.  He  will  have  made  us 
better  acquainted  with  the  noble  country  of 
our  inheritance,  and  better  acquainted  with 
one  another,  and  different  sections  better  ac 
quainted  with  the  rest.  Of  the  regions  through 
which  he  passed,  how  much  has  he  to  relate 
which  will  be  new  to  those  who  have  lived 
from  childhood  on  the  spot !  To  our  citizen 
travelers  for  relaxation  in  summer,  how  much 
more  attractivo  will  the  scenery  be  made  ! 
His  remarks  on  religion,  on  education,  on 
society  and  manners,  are  sufficiently  natter 
ing. — Christian  Register. 

We  do  not  recollect  to  have  seen  a  work 
describing  with  greater  fairness,  more  appar 
ent  sincerity,  or  less  ostentation,  our  country, 
institutions,  habits,  customs,  improvements, 
education,  and  progress  in  science ;  or  a  work 
that  we  could  more  heartily  commend  to  the 
notice  of  our  readers. — Farmer  and  Mechanic. 

The  author  is  a  close  observer  of  society, 
its  characteristic  features,  its  elements  of 
progress  and  decline.  His  impartiality  and 
candor  command  confidence  in  his  statements 
and  respect  for  his  opinions.  The  work  is 
most  agreeable  reading. — National  Era. 


82  CLIFF  STREET,  NEW  YORK. 

October,  1849. 


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fitted  to  deal  with  those  unscrupulous  controversialists,  the  disciples  of  Loyola ; 
and  though  there  are  a  number  of  things  in  the  volume  which  apply  more  espe 
cially  to  England  and  to  the  state  of  the  Anglican  Church,  there  is  in  it,  at  the 
same  time,  a  vast  fund  of  new  and  valuable  information  for  all  Christian  readers. 
We  regard  the  book  as  eminently  suggestive  in  its  character.  It  is  worthy  of 
every  one's  thoughtful  consideration. — New  York  Mirror. 


J,  F,  Gorkran,  Esq. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  NATIONAL  CONSTITUENT 
ASSEMBLY. 

12mo,  Paper,  75  cents;  Muslin,  90  cents. 

Full-length  portraits  of  the  most  distinguished  actors  in  France,  within  this  last 
eighteen  months,  are  here  drawn  with  no  common  pencil.  The  book  gives  infor 
mation  touching  French  society,  with  the  state  and  tendencies  of  things  in  the 
new  republic,  not  elsewhere  to  be  met  with.  The  writer's  style  is  dashing  and 
descriptive.  His  eye  was  open  to  all  that  passed  around  him,  and  his  reflections 
are  in  the  main  discriminating  and  just. —  Watchman. 


By  the  Author  of  "The  Jail  Chaplain," 
SCENES   WHERE    THE    TEMPTER   HAS   TRI 
UMPHED. 

16mo,  Paper,  35  cents ;  Muslin,  45  cents. 

The  title  of  this  work  is  most  graphically  descriptive  of  its  character.  It  carries 
us  over  forbidden  ground,  and  shows  us  every  where  the  monuments  of  vice  and 
folly.  It  illustrates  with  a  master  hand  the  danger  not  less  than  the  guilt  of  evil 
doing.  Young  persons  especially  should  ponder  its  solemn  admonitions  till  they 
have  done  their  perfect  work  upon  the  heart  and  conscience.— Albany  Argus. 


Harper  fy  Brothers1  Book  List  of  the  present  Season.  3 

George  Combe, 
THE   CONSTITUTION  OF  MAN* 

Considered  in  Relation  to  External  Objects.     From  the  Third  Enlarged 

Edinburgh  Edition. 
I8mo,  Muslin,  37|  cents. 


Richard  Hildreth,  Esq. 
A  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

From  the  first  Settlement  of  the  Country  to  the  Organization  of  Govern 
ment  under  the  Federal  Constitution,  &c. 

3  vols.  8vo,  Muslin,  $6  00 ;  Sheep,  86  75 ;  half  Calf,  $7  50. 

"  The  product  of  over  seven  years'  literary  toil,  this  important  work  presents,  in 
a  compact  and  popular  form,  the  first  complete  history  of  the  United  States  that 
has  ever  appeared.  The  author's  pursuits  and  studies  have  prepared  him  for  the 
most  faithful  and  skillful  execution  of  his  task.  The  style  is  characterized  by 
great  perspicuity,  force,  and  gracefulness;  the  narrative  is  unencumbered,  and 
the  tone  of  the  history  sound  and  scholar-like." 

"Mr.  Hildreth  gives  the  great  mass  of  readers  in  our  reading  country  just  the 
history  which  is  adapted  to  their  wants,  and  which,  we  have  no  doubt,  will  at 
once  gain  the  position  that  it  deserves,  of  a  popular,  readable  book  for  the  million, 
which  may  be  relied  on  for  the  correctness  of  its  details,  while  it  wins  the  atten 
tion  by  the  simple  beauty  of  its  narrative." 


Rufus  W,  Griswold,  D,D, 

AN  ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY, 

Ancient  and  Modern ;  embracing  more  than  Two  Thousand  Articles 
relating  to  America.     Edited  from  the  Biographie  Universelle,  Con 
versations  Lexicon,  the  Biographie  Moderne,  Rose's  Biographical 
Dictionary,  Smith's  Greek  and  Roman  Biography,  &c. 
3  vols.  royal  8vo.     (In  press.) 


Dr.  John  A,  Carlyle. 
DANTE'S  DIVINE  COMEDY:   THE  INFERNO. 

A  literal  Prose  Translation,  with  the  Text  of  the  Original  collated  from 

the  best  Editions,  and  Explanatory  Notes. 

12mo,  Muslin,  $1  00. 

We  are  much  mistaken  if  this  work  does  not  make  the  immortal  Italian  famil 
iar  to  thousands  who  are  but  barely  acquainted  with  his  name,  and  more  highly 
appreciated  than  ever,  even  by  those  who  have  fancied  that  they  studied  him 
well.  It  is  a  rich  store-house  of  literary  wealth,  and  wisdom,  and  genius. — Lit 
erary  Gazette. 


4   Harper  fy  Brothers'  Book  List  of  the  present  Season. 

Rev,  W,  P,  Strickland. 

A    HISTORY    OF    THE    AMERICAN    BIBLE 
SOCIETY, 

From  its  Organization  in  1816  to  the  present  Time. 
WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION,  BY  REV.  N.  L.  RICE. 

With  a  Portrait  of  Hon.  Elias  Boudinot,  LL.D.,  first  President  of  the  Society. 

8vo,  Muslin,  $1  50 ;   Sheep,  $1  75. 

The  above  work  has  been  examined  and  approved  by  many  eminent  gentlemen, 
among  whom  are 


BISHOP  M'!LVAINE, 
"       JANES, 
"       MORRIS, 
REV.  DR.  BEECHER, 
"       "     BIGGS, 
"       "     RICE, 
"       "     STOCKTON, 


REV.  DR.  FISHER, 
"    w"     ELLIOTT, 
"       "     TYNG, 
"       "     BRIGHAM, 
"       "     DURBIN, 

HON.  JUDGE  M'LEAN, 


A   HISTORY   OF   WONDERFUL    INVENTIONS. 

With  numerous  Illustrations.     12mo,  Paper,  50  cents  ;  Muslin,  75  cents 


Professor  Gray, 
NATURAL    PHILOSOPHY. 

12mo.     (In  press.) 


SERMONS  BY  THE  LATE  THOMAS  CHAL 
MERS,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

Illustrative  of  different  Stages  in  his  Ministry.     From  1798  to  1847. 
EDITED  BY  REV.  WILLIAM  HANNA,  LL.D. 

Forming  Volume  VI.  of  "  Chalmers's  Posthumous  Works."     12mo,  Muslin, 
$1  00;   Sheep  extra,  $1  25. 

This  volume  contains  sermons,  beginning'  in  1798,  and  we  need  not  speak  of  the 
peculiar  eloquence  and  effect  of  the  preacher.  They  stand  well  the  examination 
of  the  closet,  not  only  in  style,  but,  what  is  far  better,  in  moral  discipline  and  doc 
trine.  The  Divine  summary  of  human  duty  is  a  fine  example  of  the  enforcement 
of  both  religious  and  moral  duties  ;  on  the  guilt  of  calumny,  a  glorious  moral  dis 
course.  His  several  farewell  discourses  are  fiiil  of  rich  humanity  and  touching 
reflections;  but  there  are  thirty-three  sermons,*and  we  can  not  particularize  their 
relative  merits.  Leaving  the  more  theological  subjects,  wo  would  say,  that  those 
on  courteousness,  and  the  duties  of  masters  and  servants,  are  worthy  of  being 
framed  in  letters  of  gold,  as  lessons  for  the  right  discharge  of  simple  daily  duties. 
— London  Literary  Gazette. 


Harper  fy  Brothers1  Book  List  of  the  present  Season.  5 

Professor  Andrews. 
A  LATIN-ENGLISH  LEXICON. 

From  the  new  German  Work  of  Dr.  Freund,  augmented  with  im 
portant  Additions. 
Umform  with  Liddell  and  Scott's  Lexiccm.     Royal  8vo.     (In  press.) 


Rev,  Jacob  Abbott. 
A   SERIES   OF   HISTORIES, 

Comprising 


MARY  QUEEN  OP  SCOTS. 
CHARLES  I.  OF  ENGLAND. 
ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT. 
HANNIBAL  THE  CARTHAGINIAN. 
QUEEN  ELIZABETH. 
CHARLES  II.  OF  ENGLAND. 
QUEEN  MARIA  ANTOINETTE. 


JULIUS  CAESAR. 
KING  RICHARD  I. 
KING  RICHARD  III. 
ALFRED  THE  GREAT. 
DARIUS,  KING  OF  PERSIA. 
WILLIAM  THE  CONQUEROR. 
XERXES. 


Each  Volume  is  handsomely  printed,  tastefully  bound,  and  adorned 
with  an  elegantly  Illuminated  Title-page  and  numerous  illustrative 
Engravings. 

12mo,  Muslin,  plain  edges,  60  cents ;  Muslin,  gilt  edges,  75  cents. 

The  historical  writings  of  Mr.  Abbott  can  not  fail  to  be  popular.  They  are 
written  in  an  elegant  yet  simple  style,  and  are  well  suited  both  to  juvenile  and 
mature  minds. — Methodist  Protestant. 

The  matter  and  the  style  of  publication  make  them  peculiarly  attractive  to  the 
young,  for  whose  use  we  do  not  know  any  more  interesting  and  instructive  works. 
Every  parent  should  place  them  in  the  hands  of  his  children. — Baltimore  Amer. 


James  Copland,  BID,,  F.R.S, 
A  DICTIONARY  OF  PRACTICAL  MEDICINE. 

Comprising  General  Pathology,  the  Nature  and  Treatment  of  Diseases, 
Morbid  Structures,  and  the  Disorders  especially  Incidental  to  Cli 
mates,  to  the  Sex,  and  to  the  different  Epochs  of  Life ;  with  numer 
ous  Prescriptions  for  the  Medicines  recommended.  A  Classification 
of  Diseases  according  to  Pathological  Principles ;  a  copious  Bibliog 
raphy,  and  an  Appendix  of  approved  Formulae. 

WITH  NOTES  AND  ADDITIONS  BY  C.  A.  LEE,  M.D. 

To  be  completed  in  3  vols.  royal  8vo.     Two  Volumes  now  Published.     Price 

$5  00  per  Volume,  bound  in  Muslin. 

Aside  from  its  importance  to  the  medical  profession,  this  work  can  not  fail  to 
commend  itself  to  a  numerous  class  among  general  readers  who  would  obtain  in 
telligent  views  of  the  nature  and  treatment  of  the  various  diseases  which  "  flesh 
is  heir  to."  It  is  beautifully  printed,  and  is  unquestionably  the  best  work  that 
has  hitherto  appeared  on  the  subject  of  Practical  Medicine,  either  in  this  coun 
try  or  in  Europe. — New  Bedford  Mercury. 


6  Harper  8f  Brothers*  Book  List  of  the  present  Season. 


THE  LATE 
MR.  SOUTHEY'S  COMMONPLACE-BOOK; 

Consisting  of  Choice  Passages  from  Works  in  every  Department  of 
Literature — Special  Collections  in  various  Branches  of  Historical  and 
Literary  Research — Analytical  Readings,  being  critical  Analyses, 
with  interesting  Extracts — and  Original  Memoranda,  Literary  and 
Miscellaneous,  accumulated  by  Mr.  Southey  in  the  whole  course 
of  his  personal  and  literary  career. 

EDITED  BY  HIS  SON-IN-LAW,  REV.  J.  W.  WARTER. 

Subjoined  is  an  analysis  of  the  whole  contents  of  the  collection,  as  well  as  a 
summary  of  the  contents  of  each  volume  of  the  series. 

FIRST  SERIES — Choice  Passages. 

Choice  Passages,  Moral,  Religious,  Political,  Philosophical,  Historical,  Poetical, 
and  Miscellaneous  : — First  Class,  Larger  Passages ;  Second  Class,  Smaller  Pas 
sages. 

Collections  for  the  Histoiy  of  English  Manners  and  Literature. 


SECOND  SERIES — 

Collection  relating  to — 

Church-of- En  gland  Divinity. 
Cromwell's  Age. 

Spanish  and  Portuguese  Literature. 
The  Manners  of  the  Middle  Ages. 
The  History  of  Religious  Orders. 
Orientalia,  or  Mohammedan  and  Hin 
doo  Manners. 
East  Indian  Geography. 


Special  Collections. 
Collection  relating  to — 
The  Native  American  Tribes. 
Spanish  and  Portuguese  American  Ge 
ography. 

Miscellaneous  Geography. 
Collection  consisting  of— 
Remarkable   Facts  in  Natural   His 
tory. 
Curious  Facts  quite  Miscellaneous. 


THIRD  SERIES — Analytical  Readings. 


Analytical  Readings  of  Works  in — 
English  History  (Civil). 

(Ecclesiastical). 

Anglo-Irish  History. 

French  History. 

Civil  History  (Miscellaneous  Foreign). 

Ecclesiastical  (General). 

Historical  Memoirs. 

Biography  (Ecclesiastical). 


Analytical  Readings  of  Works  in- 
Biography  (Miscellaneous). 
Literary  History. 
Correspondence. 
Voyages  and  Travels. 
Topography. 
Natural  Histoiy. 
Divinity. 
Miscellaneous  Literature. 


FOURTH  SERIES — Original  Memoranda,  fyc. 


Ideas  and  Studies  for  Literary  Compo 
sition  in  general. 

Memoranda  for  the  Composition  of  par 
ticular  \Vorks. 

Personal  Observations  and  Recollec 
tions. 

Characteristic  English  Anecdotes. 

Miscellaneous  Notes  and  Extracts  relat 


ing  to  the  composition  of  "The  Doc 
tor." 

Facts  and  Opinions  relating  to  Political 
and  Social  History. 

Memoranda  relating  to  the  Political  His 
tory  of  the  Period  of  the  Reform  Bill 
(1830-33). 

Miscellaneous  Gleanings. 


,  Paper,  $1  00  per  Volume;  Muslin,  $1  25  per  Volume. 


Harper  fy  Brothers'  Book  List  of  the  present  Season.   7 

Professors  Riddle  and  Arnold. 

AN   ENGLISH-LATIN    LEXICON. 

Founded  on  the  German-Latin  Dictionary  of  Dr.  C.  E.  Georgea. 

REVISED  BY  CHARLES  ANTHON,  LL.D. 

Royal  8vo. 


Charles  Anthon,  LL.D. 
THE    WORKS    OF   HORACE. 

With  English  Notes,  critical  and  explanatory.  A  new  Edition,  cor 
rected  and  enlarged,  with  Excursions  relative  to  the  Wines  and 
Vineyards  of  the  Ancients;  and  a  Life  of  Horace  by  Milman. 

Sheep  extra,  $1  25. 


Charles  Anthon,  LL.D. 

A   SYSTEM    OF   ANCIENT   AND    MEDIAEVAL 
GEOGRAPHY. 

8vo.     (In  press.} 


Alexander  G.  Findlay,  F.R.G.S. 

A   CLASSICAL  ATLAS    TO   ILLUSTRATE  AN. 
CIENT  GEOGRAPHY; 

Comprised  in  25  Maps,  showing  the  various  Divisions  of  the  World  as 
known  to  the  Ancients.  With  an  Index  of  the  Ancient  and  Modern 
Names.  The  Maps  are  beautifully  Colored,  and  the  Index  is  re 
markably  full  and  complete. 

Svo,  half  Bound,  $3  75. 


Dr,  John  C,  L,  Gieseler, 

A   COMPENDIUM   OF   ECCLESIASTICAL 
HISTORY. 

From  the  Fourth  Edinburgh  Edition,  revised  and  amended.     Trans 
lated  from  the  German, 
BY  SAMUEL  DAVIDSON,  LL.D. 
Vols.  L  and  IT.,  Svo,  Muslin,  $3  00. 


8   Harper  <£•  Brothers'  Book  List  of  the  present  Season. 


Prof,  M'Clintock  and  Crooks, 

A  SERIES  OF 
ELEMENTARY  GREEK  AND  LATIN  BOOKS, 

Comprising 


A  FIRST  BOOK  IN  LATIN, 

Containing  Grammar,  Exercises,  and 
Vocabularies,  on  the  Method  of 
constant  Imitation  and  Repetition. 
With  Summaries  of  Etymology  and 
Syntax.  12mo,  Sheep  extra,  75 
cents.  (Fifth  Edition.) 

A  SECOND  BOOK  IN  LATIN, 

Being  a  sufficient  Latin  Reader,  in 
Extracts  from  Caesar  and  Cicero, 
with  Notes  and  full  Vocabulary. 
12mo.  (Soon.) 

AN  INTRODUCTION   TO  WRITING 
LATIN, 

Containing  a  full  Syntax,  on  the  Ba 
sis  of  Klihner,  with  Loci  Mem.oria.les 
selected  from  Cicero,  and  copious 
Exercises  for  Imitation  and  Repe 
tition.  12mo. 


A  PRACTICAL   INTRODUCTION   TO 
LATIN  STYLE, 

Principally  translated  from  Grysar'a 
"Theorie  lateinischen  Stiles." 
12mo. 

A  FIRST  BOOK  IN  GREEK, 

Containing  a  full  View  of  the  Forms 
of  Words,  with  Vocabularies  and 
copious  Exercises,  on  the  Method 
of  constant  Imitation  and  Repeti 
tion.  12mo,  Sheep  extra,  75  cents. 
(Second  Edition.) 

A  SECOND  BOOK  IN  GREEK, 

Containing  a  Syntax,  with  Reading 
Lessons  in  Prose;  Prosody  and 
Reading  Lessons  in  Verse.  Form 
ing  a  sufficient  Greek  Reader,  with 
Notes  and  copious  Vocabulary. 
12mo.  (Nearly  ready.) 


The  "First  Book  in  Latin,"  by  Professors  M'Clintock  and  Crooks,  I  prefer,  on 
many  accounts,  to  any  other  of  the  elementary  Latin  grammars  now  used  in  our 
schools ;  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  its  philosophical  and  eminently  practical  charac 
ter  will  secure  for  it  great  popularity  both  among  teachers  and  pupils. — Rev.  J.  F. 
SCHROEDER,  Rector  of  St.  Ann's  Hall,  New  York. 


Sir  Charles  Lyell, 
A  SECOND  VISIT  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

2  vols.  12roo,  Paper,  $1  20 ;  Muslin,  $1  50, 


George  F.  Ruxton,  Esq. 
LIFE    IN   THE   FAR   WEST. 

12mo,  Paper,  37|  cents ;  Muslin,  60  cents. 

Mr.  Ruxton  is  a  remarkably  cheerful,  good-natured,  free-and-easy  traveler,  who 
tells  his  story  in  a  most  happy  style,  touching  here  and  there  the  most  interesting 
points  in  a  journey  of  thousands  of  miles,  with  a  quickness  and  life  which  make 
his  adventures  very  pleasant  reading. — Hartford  Republican. 


Harper  Sf  Brothers'  Book  List  of  the  present  Season.    9 

B.  J,  Lossing, 

THE   PICTORIAL  FIELD-BOOK  OF  THE  REV 
OLUTION  ; 

Or,  Illustrations,  by  Pen  and  Pencil,  of  the  History,  Scenery,  Biog 
raphy,  Relics,  and  Traditions  of  the  War  for  Independence. 

EMBELLISHED  WITH   FIVE   HUNDRED   ENGRAVINGS   ON  WOOD,   CHIEFLY 
FROM    ORIGINAL    SKETCHES. 

To  be  completed  in  about  Fifteen  Numbers,  containing  Sixty-four  large  octavo 
Pages  each,  at  25  Cents  per  Number. 

This  elegant  work  will  be  a  pictorial  and  descriptive  record  of  a  journey  to  all 
the  most  important  historical  localities  of  the  American  Revolution,  performed 
during  the  years  1848  and  1849.  Its  plan  is  unique  and  attractive,  embracing  tho 
characteristics  of  a  book  of  travel  and  a  history.  The  author  has  visited  the 
places  described  and  illustrated,  and  sketched  the  natural  scenery ;  relics  of  the 
past,  such  as  head-quarters  of  officers  still  standing,  interior  views  of  remarkable 
buildings,  and  remains  of  fortifications ;  many  interesting  relics  preserved  in  his 
torical  societies  and  elsewhere ;  and  every  thing  of  interest  which  fell  in  his  way 
connected  directly  or  indirectly  with  the  events  in  question.  These  will  all  be 
portrayed  and  described  as  he  found  them.  In  addition  to  these  sketches,  will  be 
given  plans  of  all  the  battles,  exhibiting  the  relative  positions  of  the  opposing 
troops  in  action ;  portraits  of  persons,  American  and  foreign,  who  were  distinguish 
ed  actors  in  those  scenes,  as  well  as  of  individuals  still  living  who  were  engaged 
in  the  war;  fac-similes  of  autograph  names,  medals,  and  documents;  plans  of  for- 
tifications,  &c. 


Rev,  Charles  Beecher. 

THE  INCARNATION ;  OR,  PICTURES  OF  THE 
VIRGIN  AND  HER  SON. 

WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY  MRS.  HARRIET  BEECHER  STOWB. 
12mo,  Muslin,  50  cents. 

The  volume  before  us  consists  of  nineteen  chapters,  more  fitly,  from  the  delicate 
fancy,  dramatic  power,  felicity  in  description,  and  occasional  instances  of  splendid 
imagination  which  they  exhibit,  to  be  styled  cantos,  for  the  work  is  altogether 
much  more  poetical  than  Klopstock's,  and  scarcely  less  so  than  the  Paradise  Re 
gained  of  Milton.  In  the  simplicity  and  elegance  of  its  diction,  as  well  as  in  the 
clearness  and  appositeness  of  its  imagery,  it  addresses  the  most  uncultivated 
tastes,  while  it  will  detain  the  attention  of  the  Epicurean  in  letters.  It  is  a  book 
calculated  for  all  sects,  for  all  ranks,  and  for  all  ages. — New  York  Weekly  Mirror. 


Professor  Fowler, 

AN  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  STUDY  OF  THE 
ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

Bvo.     (In  press.) 


10  Harper  §*  Brothers'  Book  List  of  the  present  Season. 

Rev,  H,  Hastings  Weld, 
BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN,  HIS  AUTOBIOGRAPHY, 

With  a  Narrative  of  his  Public  Life  and  Services. 

With  numerous  splendid  Illustrations.     8vo,  Muslin,  $2  50 ;    Sheep  extra, 
$2  75  ;  half  Calf,  $3  00. 

It  is  a  book  for  "the  people" — a  book  of  "proverbs,"  if  you  please,  having  in  it 
no  little  of  the  wisdom  of  Solomon;  proverbs  illustrated  and  worked  out  in  his  own 
history.  It  is  a  practical  every-day  philosophy  which  has  made  the  fortunes  of 
more  men  than  all  the  gold  of  California  will  ever  make.  The  narrative  of  his  pub 
lic  life  and  services  by  Mr.  "Weld  forms  an  interesting  and  valuable  addition  to 
the  autobiography.  This  edition  is  a  splendid  affair — nothing  like  it  exists ;  the 
old  philosopher  would  hardly  know  himself  in  so  splendid  a  dress.  The  paper,  the 
press-work,  the  pictorial  illustrations  are  all  superior. — Biblical  Repository. 


Rev.  Baptist  W.  Noel,  M,A, 

AN  ESSAY  ON  THE  UNION  OF  CHURCH 
AND  STATE. 

12mo,  Muslin,  $1  25.     (Second  Edition.) 

This  is  a  labored  argument  against  the  establishment  of  the  Church,  by  one  of 
the  most  celebrated  evangelical  preachers  of  this  day  in  England.  It  condemns 
the  Union  of  Church  and  State  upon  constitutional  grounds,  by  arguments  drawn 
from  history  and  the  Mosaic  law,  and  from  the  prophecies  and  the  New  Testa 
ment.  It  condemns  also  the  maintenance  of  Christian  pastors  by  the  State,  and 
undertakes  to  show  the  evils  of  such  maintenance.  It  then  shows  the  influence 
of  the  union  of  Church  and  State  upon  Church  dignitaries  and  pastors,  and  upon 
Dissenters.  A  third  series  of  objections  discovers  many  miscellaneous  evils  re 
sulting  from  the  same  to  the  people  and  country  generally,  and  to  religion.  The 
last  chapter  of  the  work  is  devoted  to  the  means  and  methods  of  promoting  a  re 
vival  and  extension  of  religion. 


Hon.  T,  Babington  Macaulay, 

THE    HISTORY    OF    ENGLAND,    FROM    THE 
ACCESSION  OF  JAMES  II. 

AN  ELEGANT  LIBRARY  EDITION,  ON  LARGE  TYPE,  FINE  PAPER,  AND  IN  GOOD 

BINDING.     UNIFORM  WITH  PRESCOTT's  HISTORICAL  WORKS, 

WASHINGTON'S  WRITINGS,  ETC. 

With  a  Portrait  of  the  Author.     Vols.  I.  and  II.,  Muslin,  75  cents  per  volume  ; 

Sheep  extra,  $1  00;  half  Calf,  $1  25. 
Also,  an  Edition  uniform  with  Alison's  Europe,  at  25  cents  per  Volume. 

Macaulay,  as  a  brilliant  rhetorician,  comes  nearer  to  Burke  than  any  writer  since 
his  tinid ;  as  a  painter  of  character,  his  portraits  vie  with  those  of  Clarendon;  for 
picturesque  description,  he  is  equal  to  Robertson,  and  the  march  of  his  narrative, 
if  not  so  simply  graceful  as  that  of  Hume,  is  more  stately  and  imposing.  He  is 
accurate  and  impartial :  perhaps  no  English  author  is  better  fitted  to  produce  a 
popular  continuation  to  Hume,  or  to  attract  attention  to  eras  of  English  history 
much  neglected  by  general  readers. — Churchman. 


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